The many students of Class 1A were currently training again. It was day three of the camp, so the things were only getting harder for them all. Because today they were having to push their limits, while sore from yesterday's hard work. Aizawa stood with his usual serious expression. "Don't lose focus. All of you, move faster! No matter what you're doing, never forget where you came from. That's what it means to improve! Always keep in mind why you're sweating and why you keep getting nagged." Aizawa ordered. With that said, the more mindful and determined of the class were now thinking hard about where they came from, as they continued to train. Except Izuku, who had a question.
"Mr. Aizawa." Izuku called out.
"What did I just say? Don't just stop training and run up like that." Aizawa reprimanded.
"Sorry, it just...well it's already the third day of camp. You're here, Mr. Vlad is here, and I know that Y/N is training in the forest with Snipe. I was wondering when All Might and the rest of the teachers are going to get here?" Izuku asked, politely.
"For the training camp, the number of teachers involved was kept to an absolute minimum. It's to keep villains from finding out where we are." Aizawa explained.
"That's why you got a training camp with the four of us!" Ragdoll said, overhearing.
"And especially since we believe All Might is one of the villain's targets, we can't have him here. He stands out too much." Aizawa added. Pixie-Bob seemed to remember something and called out to everyone.
"More importantly, everyone, tonight we'll have a test of courage with the class pitted against each other! After training hard, you can play hard!" Pixie-Bob said, excited.
"Oh, right." Kendo and Iida recalled. Both being Class Presidents, they had been informed prior to the others.
"But I hate scary things..." Jiro sulked, quietly.
"Revelry in the dark..." Tokoyami said.
"So our classes be pitted against each other? I like the sound of it!" Monoma smiled, eerily. Elsewhere, Y/N was training in his own area of the forest. He was far enough away that gunshots could still be heard by his classmates, but not over Bakugo's explosions. He had heard Aizawa's words and the Pussycat's as well. This was due to Mandalay using her Telepathy quirk to share the message with students who wouldn't hear otherwise.
Y/N POV:
I stood with my back against one of the fake training buildings Pixie-Bob had made. Just outside the doorway, I made my way in, pistol in hand. As I scanned the first empty room, my gun barrel was grabbed and I was yanked around a corner. Snipe shifted his grip around my throat, now holding me in a chokehold. "You realize what you did wrong?" Snipe retorted. I responded by elbowing him in the gut and moving under his arm. Now I had him in a half-assed arm bar.
"I had my gun too far in front of me?" I asked. Snipe used his weight to fall forward, pulling me with him. Now he had me pinned to the ground, by my arm, with my face in the dirt.
"Never lead into a room in a way that your gun can be so easily grabbed. Also, you're just not paying enough attention." Snipe said, releasing his grip. I begrudgingly got up from the ground and brushed my face some. "It's like I already said. When you're using a gun, in a building especially, danger could be around any corner. Focus. Put everything you have into your peripheral vision and your reflexes. Especially since your bullets are non-penetrating." Snipe stated.
"Right... So, did I hear Pixie-Bob say something about a test of courage?" I asked.
"Yeah, it's to add a little fun to this hard-core camp experience you're all getting. I'm pretty sure it's supposed to be one class against the other." Snipe replied.
"I can't be the only one who would rather sleep, right?" I asked, unsure.
Everyone's training continued until nightfall. As per usual, we made our own dinner. "Alright, we've filled our bellies and washed our dishes. Next..." Pixie-Bob began.
"It's time for the test of courage!" Ashido interrupted, happily.
"We're gonna test it!" Kaminari, Sero and Kirishima exclaimed.
"Before that, those of you who failed the Final Exam must come with me for the extra lessons group." Aizawa suddenly said. The expressions of those who failed turned to faces of grave disappointment.
"You've gotta be kidding me!" Ashido shouted. Without batting an eye, Aizawa wrapped up Kaminari, Kirishima, Ashido, Sato and Sero with his scarf and began dragging them all away.
"Your training during the day wasn't enough, so I have to use this time." Aizawa stated.
'Damn...' I thought.
"Okay, so Class B will be the first to be the scarers. Class A will leave in pairs every three minutes. There are tags with your names written on them in the middle of the route, so bring those back with you." Pixie-Bob explained.
"Revelry in the dark..." Tokoyami said.
"I thought you hated the dark?" I asked.
"I dislike that Dark Shadow becomes extremely wild in darkness. But I, myself, enjoy the dark." Tokoyami clarified.
"Those being scarers aren't allowed to make direct contact. Show us how scary you are with your quirks!" Pixie-Bob added.
"Let's see which class is pissing themselves in fear, first!" Hagakure said.
"Hehehehe..." I laughed.
"What are you snickering about?" Jiro asked, curiously.
"What Hagakure said. It got me thinking. Once it's our classes' turn to scare, I can just start refilling people's bladders, so they piss themselves." I explained. The remaining Class A students looked to me with shocked faces.
"That's so overkill, though..." Jiro said.
"Oh, come on! Man...Aizawa took all the guys who would find that funny. I'm definitely doing that shit to Monoma, at least." I replied.
"He's in the extra lessons group." Izuku pointed out.
"You gotta be kidding me!" I yelled, complaining.
"I believe Monoma was the only student of Class B to fail the Final Exam." Yaomomo said.
"That makes me feel a little better, actually." I said, smiling. From there, we all started drawing lots, to decide pairs. I had attempted to skip the entire test of courage and go to sleep early, but I was met with a couple obstacles. "I don't understand. Why can't you just let me pass?" I asked. Mandalay stood in front of me, blocking the entrance to the facility.
"Sorry, kitty. But we believe everyone not requiring extra studies should participate in the test of courage." Mandalay said.
"Yeah. It's crazy to work so hard and then do nothing with your down time. Hang out with your friends! Enjoy the company before you all turn in for the a night!" Ragdoll added. I reared my head back in minor irritation.
"Y/N. The night's not over yet. Let's have some fun before we all go to sleep!" Izuku said, agreeing.
"Alright. Alright. I'll play along. But isn't the number of people we have uneven now?" I asked.
"He's right. With the extra lesson guys gone, we're down to fifteen people." Todoroki reminded.
"That means there will either be one group of three or somebody will have to go through the woods alone." Ojiro said.
"Mineta can go alone." I quickly said.
"Agreed." the class replied, in unison. Immediately, Mineta became upset and took on a betrayed expression.
"Why me! It's dark and spooky out there! What's with you guys?! I don't wanna go alone!" Mineta shrieked, almost crying.
"He'd probably use the dark as an excuse to do something perverted. Ribbit." Tsu said.
"Definitely." Jiro agreed.
"I'm sure he would." Yaomomo agreed. Meanwhile, Jiro was drawing the lot for her pairing, and appeared to start blushing. Though it was hard to tell with only moonlight, to see.
"Y/N!" Jiro called out. I stopped what I was doing and turned to face her. She held up the lot she had drawn. "You and I are paired together." she said.
"Okay." I replied. With that, I gave a cringey thumbs up.
"Alright, Class A, the next pairing can enter the forest now. In three minutes, we'll send another, so let's get paired everyone!" Pixie-Bob said. Jiro and I entered that dark forest and walked down the designated path. We walked side by side, with our hands resting in the pockets of our own hoodies.
"Kinda funny, you and I being paired, huh?" Jiro said, nervously.
"How so?" I asked.
"Well, I just mean...back during USJ, when the class got split up, we ended up in the same place. Now, all this time has passed and we're paired up for this camp activity. I don't know... I thought it was interesting..." Jiro said, fumbling her words.
"No, I get it. It's crazy to think how much has happened in the past few months. And USJ was kind of the beginning of it all. Or at least all the craziness..." I replied. Jiro's expression softened, seeming almost concerned.
"Are you okay? I mean, with everything that's happened, lately?" Jiro asked. I stopped walking, thinking about what she had just asked me. She ceased walking as well. "I remember that you and Izuku were attacked by the Hero Killer at one point... And now, recently, there was that incident at the mall with..." Jiro said.
"...Shigaraki." I interrupted. For a moment it was quiet. I could only hear my feet, as I lightly kicked the dirt. "That...sucked, yeah. When someone like that grabs you by the throat, you don't have a lot of options... But it turns out, I didn't have any options... That's the part that messes with my head. The powerlessness..." I spoke, honestly.
"Was it the same with Stain?" Jiro asked, hesitantly. She clearly wasn't sure if she was doing right by asking, but definitely wanted to help. The two of us began to slowly continue walking.
"I don't think so. Stain was different. He instilled fear, not necessarily hopelessness. And it was his conviction that made him so terrifying. But Shigaraki...he could've turned me to dust, right there..." I replied, thinking.
"I'm sorry. We're supposed to be having fun and I'm making you relive all this." Jiro said, walking faster. As she did, I found myself grabbing her arm.
"It's okay. No, I...I think I needed to talk about it. Maybe if had talked about it sooner, I wouldn't have ended up in a fight with Monoma." I admitted.
"Is that what that was about? I knew you seemed off. Your reaction was a bit much, for you." Jiro said.
"That was just a day or so after the mall incident. I was feeling so powerless. I just needed to do something, you know? To feel strong, again. And when Monoma started running his mouth, I lost it." I confessed.
"Y/N. Do you consider me a friend?" Jiro suddenly asked.
"What? Yeah, of course. Honestly, I think Bakugo and Mineta are the only two in the class that I don't." I said.
"Well then, listen to me when I say that you are anything but powerless." Jiro complemented. I opened my mouth to speak, but she interrupted me. "Think about everything that you can do. Every amazing thing you've done with your quirk since joining UA. Besides, who wouldn't feel weak, when faced with a guy who disintegrates stuff?" Jiro defended.
"I was trying to say, before, that I don't feel that way now. Since getting to this camp, I've been reminded of what I'm capable of. Now I'm training with Snipe, getting better with my guns, I'm fired up!" I explained. Ironically, a foul smell hit my nose, as I said that. A burning smell. "Do you smell that?" I asked.
"Something's burning? What is it? And where?" Jiro added. We each looked around for smoke, but the surrounding trees shrouded our view of the sky. I eventually saw some sort of purple gas cloud spreading through the forest, towards us! Without saying a word, I turned around, threw Jiro over my shoulder and bolted back the way we had came. "Whoa?! Hang on!" Jiro yelled, embarrassed. Then she seemed to notice the gas chasing behind us. "Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! What is that!" she shouted.
"We're not sticking around to find out! We've got to get back to camp!" I replied, determined. But my statement was short-lived. In the dark, I found myself tripping on something, causing Jiro and I to fall. "Ow! Fuck! I think I just twisted my ankle!" I said. The purple gas was closing behind us fast!
"Let's hold our breath!" Jiro suggested. We each breathed in deep, filling our lungs with oxygen. The gas enveloped around us, as we pinched our noses. With me still on the cold ground, Jiro came to my aid, and helped me up. I attempted to walk, with her help, but it was no use. I leaned against a tree. As I held my breath, I slammed my free hand against the tree, in frustration. We couldn't breathe, we couldn't tell where we were going, and I, myself, couldn't walk.
'UUUUUGGGGGHHHHH! This is seriously fucked!' I thought, loudly. Not being able to voice my frustrations, only made me angrier. Suddenly, Jiro gripped my arm, looking almost desperate. I realized she must be out of breath and refilled the oxygen in our lungs.
(Don't read too much into the science of it)
Jiro kneeled down and stuck her earphone jacks into the ground. She must've been trying to figure out which direction we should move, through vibrations. After a moment, she stood back up and pointed. So I put my arm over Jiro and she helped me to walk in that direction. The pain wasn't as bad as some other experiences I'd had, but it wasn't anything to scoff at. After a short while, which felt like an eternity, Jiro and found Yaomomo and Kendo, from Class B.
"Y/N! Jiro!" Yaomomo exclaimed. She and Kendo were both wearing oxygen masks. 'Lucky girls!' I thought, still holding my breath. The two were ultimately shocked to see us. Even more-so, to see that we weren't unconscious, from the gas. Yaomomo immediately made some oxygen masks for Jiro and I, using her quirk. We gladly put them on.
"Thanks, Yaomomo! Oh, that's so much better..." Jiro said, gratefully.
"Yeah, thanks! It's a crazy feeling to inflate your lungs with oxygen, without breathing..." I agreed, panting.
"Incredible! I can't believe you effectively countered the need to breathe, for an extended period of time!" Kendo raved, amazed.
"It's a good thing you two found us when you did. Y/N, have you overused your quirk? You seem to have trouble standing." Yaomomo said.
"It's not that. I twisted my ankle trying to run from this gas. What's the deal with this stuff, anyway?" I asked.
"It's some kind of potent knockout gas. It started rapidly spreading through the forest not too long ago. Yaomomo ran into each other, shortly after my friends from Class B passed out." Kendo explained. She pointed to a couple of her classmates who lay on the ground, unconscious. She and Yaomomo had since put oxygen masks on them, as well, but they hadn't woke up.
"Knockout gas? That must mean there are villains here! The camp is under attack!" Jiro realized.
"Let's hope that this gas isn't flammable, too. I know there's a fire nearby, I can still smell the smoke. If this stuff can be ignited, the whole area will go up like a bottle rocket." I added. Jiro once again kneeled down, plugging her earphone jacks into the ground.
"I'm picking up someone. They're standing over in that direction. I think the gas might be coming from them." Jiro said, pointing.
"Then we know who to attack! Yaomomo, can you make me a weapon?" I asked.
"We don't know if this has is volatile or not, better make him something that doesn't spark." Kendo added. With that, Yaomomo used her quirk to make me a crossbow and some arrows.
"Alright! Let's go all zombie apocalypse on this asshole!" I said, hyped.
"Hang on! Hang on! Have you completely forgotten that your ankle is hurt? You can barely stand, let alone charge at some villain!" Jiro reminded.
"Jiro's right. We should handle this guy. You should see if you can use your quirk to help my unconscious friends, over there." Kendo agreed. I stumbled off the tree I had been leaning against and Jiro helped me to the downed B students.
Third Person POV:
From there, they hatched a plan. The three of them would push forward together. Yaoyorozu would create something and handle defense, Jiro would navigate them toward the villain, and Kendo would handle the offense side of things. They moved quite a bit closer, only to hear a gunshot.
The girls immediately took cover behind some trees.
"That was a gunshot! Is anyone hurt?" Jiro called out.
"I'm good." Kendo replied.
"As am I." Yaoyorozu said.
"The villain's quirk must also let him sense movement in the gas." Kendo theorized.
"I can sense exactly where he is, but we just can't get close!" Jiro complained.
"I'll distract him. You two move in after him, and quickly!" Kendo said, moving away. The gas was disrupted as she began waving her giant hands around, creating a wind effect. The villain aimed in Kendo's direction, through the gas. But his sixth sense had been thrown off and he didn't notice that Yaoyorozu and Jiro had rushed him. Before he could shoot anyone, Jiro used the crossbow to fire an arrow into the villain's left ankle.
"That's for Y/N!" Jiro shouted. Then Yaoyorozu reeled back, with a steel bar in hand. She swung hard, hitting the villain in his face, as he was falling from his injured ankle. The impact was so great, that it destroyed his gas mask and heavily bruised his face, beneath. The two girls breathed heavily, as Kendo continued dispersing the gas around them.
"Wait until we tell the guys in class about this." Jiro remarked, jokingly.