The sound of startled birds flying in all directions erupted across the large stretch of land.
Back in the clearing, a long silence emerged as twenty people stared in the direction Bakugo had just disappeared towards.
The early morning sun continued to crawl up the mountain at a leisurely pace. The wind moved through the trees as a stray leaf drifted past. The birds in the same direction had not yet returned.
Nobody said anything for a moment.
Then Kaminari said with a blank face. "...He went far."
"Yeah," Sero said.
"Like. Far far."
"Yes."
"How far do you think—"
The rest of the class was just as stunned as both of them.
Uraraka gave a small, awkward smile. "Well… that settled that quickly."
"Yeah. I guess Bakugo lost for real this time."
"I mean, I thought it would be the case." Sero scratched the back of his head. "I just didn't think ... Well I thought it'd be more exciting."
The battle ... If you could even call it that, was truly short. From the very first moment, Bakugo had taken the first few attacks, and missed every single mark.
Then had consequently been hit upwards before he could even react, then hit again into the distance. It looked ... Incredibly one sided. 'No visible wind-up. Minimal stance adjustment. Instant acceleration. Counter before Bakugo could trigger a defensive stance. Directional launch estimated at several hundred meters at least—'
Todoroki went through everything he had seen. 'So he's grown this strong in such a short time.' His thoughts went back to the conversation in Recovery girl's office during the sports festival. When Yuta said he hadn't been as strong as he was a month prior, he had taken the claim with a grain of salt.
Now however, things looked just as he had said.
'Is his quirk that special? Or can extreme hardship truly stimulate such a level of growth?'
His thoughts were drawn out by the discussion of his classmates. "Is Bakugo going to be ok after that."
Yaoyorozu asked. "I mean .. that was quite a blow."
"Definitely not. The way I see it, he's going to have an emotional breakdown."
"... Um .. that's not what I meant."
"Well, it depends if he crashes .. " A distant crash echoed from somewhere far across the forest. Everyone collectively winced. "…There he is," Kaminari said.
Kirishima grinned. "Man… Bakugo's gonna be so mad when he wakes up."
"Thankfully, I'm not a battle maniac to begin with," Uraraka leaned slightly to the side, letting out an awkward smile at the sight of broken branches where they had disappeared. "I think I'll stick to gravity."
"Good morning everyone!" A shout came from the side, drawing their attention to the road leading into the camp. The crunch of gravel followed as Pixie Bob, Mandalay and Kota could be seen approaching.
"What was that noise?!" Pixie-Bob shouted. "Are you guys practicing here or something? The training field is that way."
"Morning!" Aizawa exhaled through his nose.
"Now that that's settled…" The class turned toward him. "Training begins."
Several hands shot up at once.
"Sensei, shouldn't we—"
"No."
"But Bakugo—"
"Is fine. He can take a hit." he said while adjusting his collar.
"Should we be concerned that—"
"Yes," Aizawa interrupted. "But not for the reasons you think."
As if on cue, a shadow swept over the clearing. Yuta descended from the canopy, landing with a silent thud.
In his right hand, he held the back of Bakugo's gym shirt. The blond was semiconscious, his arms hanging limp by his sides. Yuta dropped him gently onto the dirt. "He's fine. Mostly. I'm pretty sure his pride took the worst of the impact."
"Good. Now, Is there anyone else who isn't convinced about something? Or perhaps someone else wants to 'test' themselves against a live benchmark? Now is your chance."
The refusal was instantaneous. "No thanks! I'm good" Kaminari chirped, taking a literal step back.
"I think I'll pass for now, Sensei!" Kirishima added, waving his hands frantically. "I've got plenty of work to do on my own hardening."
Even Mineta, still visibly traumatized from the previous evening, hid behind Tsuyu. "I've never been more convinced of anything."
A few students turned toward Todoroki. After all, he was the only one besides Bakugo with a personal reason to seek a rematch.
Todoroki's brows furrowed.
For a moment, it looked as though he was genuinely considering it.
Then he shook his head. "No thanks."
He looked at Yuta, then at the unconscious Bakugo.
"I think I'll wait until after the training camp is over." Even with his fire, he could see his chances of winning weren't high. It would be a waste of energy needed for the curriculum. Better to try again when he was stronger after training.
Aizawa stared at them with his usual dead-eyed expression.
"What you just witnessed is the result of someone who has spent the past several weeks in life-threatening situations and adapted accordingly."
No one spoke. Aizawa's gaze swept over the class.
"If that display made you uncomfortable, good. It should.".
He gestured toward the forest.
"Because by the end of this camp, every one of you is expected to reduce the distance between where you are and what you just saw."
Kaminari paled. "We're doomed."
Ashido pumped a fist. "We're gonna be amazing."
Midoriya clenched his fists. Watching their reactions, Aizawa seemed faintly satisfied.
"Good." He turned toward the forest. "We'll be moving to the training area once Class 1-B arrives."
As if summoned by the statement, his phone began to ring. Aizawa glanced at the caller ID, then looked back to the students.
"Wait here."
He stepped away toward the edge of the clearing and answered.
"Aizawa."
"Good morning, Eraser." On the other end, Principal Nezu's cheery vvoice came through.
"How are the students settling?"
"Fine. First day went as expected." He paused. "We had three unauthorized presences on the north perimeter. Dealt with within the hour."
"I saw the report. Escaped convicts from Shizuoka, correct?"
"The beastman and two others." Aizawa leaned against a tree trunk. "No connection to the League. Opportunists hiding in the forest."
There was a soft chuckle from the other end.
"I'll interpret that as a successful start."
Aizawa leaned against a tree.
"Any progress?"
The amusement faded from Nezu's tone.
"Unfortunately, none. You?"
"Nothing yet." Aizawa's eyes narrowed slightly. So far, there had been no indication that anyone had leaked the location of the camp.
No suspicious communications. No unexplained movement. Nothing. And yet the absence of evidence solved nothing. This camp had never been solely about training. That was merely the visible purpose. The real purpose was far simpler.
Find the mole.
Under ordinary circumstances, the safest place for the students would have been U.A itself.
At least in theory. But that assumption depended on trusting the institution entirely
.
Recent events had made such trust impossible.
If someone within the school was feeding information to the League of Villains, then keeping the students inside the campus walls offered no meaningful protection.
Removing them from their normal environment and carefully controlling the information surrounding their movements created an opportunity. If the location leaked again, they would have their answer.
"I see." Nezu's tone remained pleasant, which was his way of saying something that wasn't pleasant. "A full day and night without incident. That's either encouraging or the situation is more patient than we assumed."
"Or there's nothing to find."
"That possibility remains on the table," Nezu said. "Though I find I'm not ready to commit to it." A pause. "The students behaved normally?"
"As far as I can observe. Which is the limitation." Aizawa looked back toward the camp, the sound of Pixie-Bob organizing something audible even at this distance. "If someone's watching and knows they're being watched, they don't do anything watchable."
"Precisely the challenge." Nezu was quiet for a moment in the way he was quiet when he was thinking rather than pausing. "As another day passes without an attempt on the camp's location, I'm increasingly confident the League doesn't have the asset they'd need to act quickly. Kurogiri's absence is doing our work for us in that regard."
Aizawa was silent. Two days ago, before the finalization of the training camp was completed amidst staff discussion, Nezu had informed a select few a crucial information for why the camp had gone through to begin with.
"Do you truly believe this is the case?"
"There is no direct evidence, but I believe so yes." Nezu replied. "Kurogiri is either dead or imprisoned by the White Fang who has appeared recently." The news of the attack on the transport of All For One's body had spread.
The details and results of said attack hadn't been disclosed to the general public. All they knew was four escaped convicts had been recaptured by the NPA.
Tsukauchi however had informed All Might on the true details, who had promptly informed Nezu. The sighting of White Fang and the disappearance of Kurogiri, who had been testified of being seen by a surviving officer, had led to an obvious conclusion.
Regardless of whether he was dead or alive, the Warpgate Villain was no longer in the hands of the League Of Villains.
"You think they'd have moved by now if they had the capability."
"Shigaraki moves impulsively. Or he used to. Whether that's changed with All For One's absence is an open question. But if he knew where these students were, and had the means to reach them, I would expect something more visible than silence."
Aizawa absorbed this. "So the camp is either safer than UA or ..."
"Or we've simply been fortunate about timing." Nezu's tone was even.
"That's the optimistic interpretation."
"Yes," Nezu said. "I'm trying to enjoy it while it lasts as I'm cautiously comfortable with the current situation. I'm less comfortable with what's being asked of us from outside."
"The Commission?"
"Indeed. The Commission, the NPA, three ministries, and the Prime Minister's office as of yesterday morning. The broader situation remains stable for now, but the pressure on hero institutions is increasing. U.A has already received requests to provide assistance."
"We're teachers, Nezu. Not a talent agency," Aizawa snapped.
"I agree. And I told them as much. But the trend is worsening. If the situation continues to spiral, there is a growing chance that students across the country ... even first years ... will be required to join the fray as auxiliary support."
"That's impossible," Aizawa said, his grip tightening on the phone. "You can't push unlicensed students into a combat zone. It's a death sentence."
"Indeed," Nezu replied, his voice uncharacteristically grim. "But unfortunately, it seems that sentiment won't really last much longer. The rules of peace don't apply to a state of emergency."
Nezu's eyes moved to the television screen in his office. On the news, the HPSC President stood at a podium. Her arm was gone, the sleeve of her suit pinned back, but her expression was one of iron-clad resolve as she addressed a frantic press corps.
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