#all I do is complain on here. in person I talk about forestry and trees constantly

[bokettochild]

Hmmm if you need ideas I always love cultural difference shenanigans so maybe Twilight and Hyrule or Warriors and Hyrule having jarringly different cultures?

I didn't really touch on cultures much, since I'm still learning a lot about the games in general, but here's three boys discussing the educational systems of their respective provinces!

(Asks are open still, if anyone wants a story, feel free to request it! I will try my best! (Crossovers aren't off the table, but I can't promise I'll write them))

From Ordon to Catalia

“So, you’re telling me,” Warriors states disbelievingly. “That you, the Hero of Hyrule, couldn’t even speak Hylian until mere months before you saved the kingdom?”

The traveler nods, a faint flush dusting over his browned cheeks at Warriors’ question.

Twilight shakes his head, a smile on his face. “Who’da thunk it? Chin up traveler, I didn’t even live in Hyrule when I saved it.”

“What?” Warriors turns to him, royal blue flickering with disbelief as he stares from one country hero to the other. “Seriously? Both of you?”

“Well,” Hyrule tugs at one of his curls, eyes glistening with mischief as he speaks. “I mean, Legend saved like, four other countries, and he wasn’t from any of them.”

“But the first country he saved was Hyrule.” Warriors asserts. “And at least he was sent to the other places or something, unlike you two.” The captain stares from one to the other. “Traveling through the kingdom and just happening to run into the Royal Nursemaid?” He turns to Twilight, disbelief still written clear on his face. “And chasing monsters, if I recall correctly. What the heck, guys?”

He can’t help but take a bit of pity on Warriors, the captain has only ever been outside of his Hyrule’s main areas when time traveling, and the poor man clearly has little to no familiarity with the provinces and kingdoms beyond his own home, save for whatever rich and stuffy nobles talk about when royalty from the other kingdoms comes to visit. But even so, Wars lacks the faintest clue of the world outside of Hyrule’s borders, and that's just a little bit sad.

He leans back on the bed that he and Hyrule are sharing, it’s been a few weeks since they were last at an inn and he fully intends on enjoying the plush beds while they can, even if it is a bit too soft for his own comfort. “We could tell you more about them, if you like?”

At his side, Hyrule nods, smile bright if not a bit wistful. “I’m always willing to share about my home.”

Warriors hesitates, caught between disbelief and curiosity.

“I don’t think even Legend has been to Catalia.” Hyrule muses, but Twilight sees the sparkle in Hyrule’s eyes, he’s tempting the captain in a way the both of them know is sure to work.

“That so?” Warriors muses. “Well, I suppose so. Although,” He turns a cynical eye to Twilight. “I’m not sure how much I actually want to know about farm life.”

“Your loss, city boy.” He scoffs in response, a wolfish smile pulling at his features.

It’s nice, he thinks as he leans back further, letting Hyrule pull his thoughts together and Warriors shake off the surprise of their previous words, to just sit and talk with his brothers. Time and Legend have roomed with Wild so he doesn’t have to worry about the Cub making trouble without him there to watch him, and for the first time in a long tie he can just sit down and talk with his other brothers. He doesn’t know why Time let Four assign rooms like this, but he isn’t complaining if the others aren’t.

“Well, what would you like to hear about?”

Warriors frowns, staring at Hyrule for a moment as the Traveler flushes darker under his curls. Maybe the healer wasn’t as ready to talk as he first thought. “How about, your family, what sort of people are they?”

Hyrule stares at the captain disbelievingly for a moment. “You’ve met my mom, remember? And I don’t really remember much of my dad, he went missing when I was a kid.”

“Oh,” Warriors flushes, a strained smile taking over his features. “Right.”

Hyrule giggles softly. “I’m not mad, Cap, just surprised that you forgot. Although to be fair, not many people probably think about it since I look like a Hylian.”

“Yeah, about that, how does that work?”

“Hylian father, I look more like him in this form. We may be from Catalia, but he was there entirely because he was fleeing the destruction of Hyrule. He met my mom in the Aver Forests, where she’d been wandering for the last few years. Great fairies can leave their pools if they so choose, but they do so rarely. Unfortunately, mom had too because of the increase of monsters in Hyrule.”

“What is the Aver Forest?”

“The biggest, lushest forest in all of Catalia!” Hyrule spread his arms wide as if to indicate how big it truly was. “I’m pretty sure it’s just the other side of the lost woods in my time, since it’s so close to the border. It nothing like Hyrule, but it is, was, home.”

“So, did yer ma follow you to Hyrule?”

“Not exactly.” The traveler replies with a small frown. “She came after Hyrule was made safer again. I can’t exactly leave the country freely anymore, so she came to see me. It’s a good thing too, since getting potions is far more difficult than just bathing in her pool.”

“Are potions really that expensive in your time?” Warriors asks, concern flecking his gentle gaze.

“It’s not about the price,” Hyrule frowns. “It’s more that most people don’t know how to brew them, and finding a person who can is difficult.”

“Ah, supply and demand.”

“Pardon, what?” The traveler looks up to the captain in confusion.

“Supply and demand, you know,” Wars states like it’s common knowledge. “When lots of people want something but only a few people can provide it? It’s the reason shops can get away with charging so much for things.”

Both country heroes stare at him.

“Have neither of you ever heard of it?” The captain blinks at them, leaning forwards on his bed. “How is that possible?”

“Not all provinces have a school, Wars.” He replies, chuckling softly at the surprise on Warriors’ face. “For farming communities we focus on animals and plants, don’t need no fancy education to plow a field.”

Hyrule stares between the two of them. “Alright, this might be a Hylian word I haven’t learned yet, but what is a scewl?”

“A what?” Warriors echoes, turning to face the traveler.

“A scewl?”

“A school?” Twilight translates, brow furrowed until the Hero of Hyrule nods in confirmation, after which he relaxes again. “It's a place people go to learn to read and write, and to count and do equations.”

“And here I thought there weren’t any in Ordon?” Warriors teases lightly.

“Get off it, Cap’. We don’t have schools, but we do have books, I know how to read and if I can learn more than I will.”

“Ah, self-taught?”

“Mostly.” He shrugs. “Hylian’s real different from Ordon-Standard, even if they’re essentially the same.”

“That makes no sense.” The captain deadpans, staring at him blankly.

“I mean, even though they have a lot in common, the way people speak and pronounce things, the vernacular and what not, is quite different that Hyrule proper.”

Hyrule blinks at the two of them owlishly. “What are equations?”

A glance is shared between them. “Math.” Warriors answers. “You know, adding, subtraction, multiplication and division?”

The traveler raises a brow, but he's shrinking in on himself in the way he does when he gets nervous. “What are those? Multipulycation and division?”

Warriors stares cautiously at the traveler, gaze gentle but concerned. “Hyrule, do you not know how to do math?”

“Do you know how to count?” Twilight tries instead.

“Of course!”

“Can you combine numbers?”

“That’s counting, but with bigger numbers.”

“Can you subtract it again?”

“Yes.” Hyrule answers slowly.

“Can you multiply?”

The traveler stares at Warriors nervously. “I just told you I don’t know what that is.”

The captain, bless his heart, looks genuinely hurt. “Good grief, what sort of mentor is Legend? Not making sure you know basic multiplication?”

And Hyrule flushes, but his brows furrow as he pushes himself straight, always defensive of his mentor. “He didn’t know, and he’s a great mentor! He’s been showing me how to grow trees!”

“Legend knows forestry?” The captain starts.

“He has an orchard.” Twilight reminds him, light laughter bubbling in his chest at the understanding that crosses Warriors’ face at the words.

“Right.” The captain turns to Hyrule. “How about this, Legend can teach whatever it is he teaches you, but when he’s done with that for the day, you come find me? Math is a wonderful thing, even if it is a tad complex, and it'd be a shame to let you go without knowing it.”

Betrayal makes itself known as Twilight pulls away from the two. “You like math?”

Horror blooms on Warriors’ delicate features. “You don’t?”

“Arithmetic is the bane of my existence and if I didn’t need to know how to count rupees, I would willingly forget it.” Twilight spits out.

“It’s wonderful!” Warriors defends. “Everything makes sense and has a logical explanation! You can count on it having an answer every time.”

One dark brow raises as midnight blue stare back at the captain, unimpressed. “Except when it doesn’t. Except when you have to graph equations but you can’t because they don’t have answers. Except when there’s two missing numbers and nothing fits in together, except when the numbers decide to become letters and you have to spit up the alphabet along with your equations.”

“How much math do you know?” Warriors raises a brow.

“Too much.” He isn’t even ashamed of the shudder that makes his pelt tickle against his cheeks. “Wild is a literal genius at it, and I can’t even number how many time he's decided to use it to explain some hare-brained scheme. Trajectory and angles and-” He shivers again. “No thank you. It’s like he ate a math textbook and just keeps spitting it back up, every time he wants to do something dumb.”

The captain whistles lowly, royal blue eyes sparkling. “You mean he has theories and reasoning behind all that? Dang!”

The glare shot the captain’s way is nothing short of threatening. “Do not encourage him, or so help me, Wars. I can hardly contain him some days as is, he doesn’t need someone else egging him on.”

“Oh, trust me,” Gloved hands raise in a non-threatening motion. “I just want to pic his brain, maybe he can help me tutor the traveler here.”

And Twilight almost asks him not too, almost begs that the captain not, before realization hits. “You know, that is actually a good idea.” He smirks. “I’m surprised.”

The deadpan look he receives is well worth it. “You wound me.”

“Were your skin not so delicate, I wouldn’t.” He returns, smile stretching wider. “But that aside, if Wild is busy tutoring Hyrule, he won’t be off blowing things up, and if Hyrule gets a better education out of it that's even better.”

“I’ll ask him about it.” Hyrule answers, eyes lighting up in a way that looks innocent, but considering the kid is Legend’s descendant there’s a very good chance that it isn’t fully. “Maybe he can teach me some tricks while he’s at it.”

“No!” The voices ring at once, but it’s already too late, Hyrule is tapping his chin and muttering low under his breath as a wide smile stretches over his face.

“What have you started.” Twilight whispers, horrified.

“I’m sorry.” Warriors returns, just as grim. “I won’t tell Legend if you don’t.”

[spring-emerald]

By the Book (pt. 2)

A KuroDai Secret Santa gift for Pau (@pokomero_ at twitter).

A continuation (and not yet the end) | Part 1

As shameful as it is to admit, Daichi runs aimlessly for the first few minutes, before he thought better than to run in plain sight, opting to pass through narrow alleys and shadowed pathways, trying to outrun phantom guards and being paranoid at every little movement in the surroundings that he’s sure didn’t come from him. He reaches the forest like this and only when he thinks he’s safely hidden among the tall grass and thick trunks did he allow himself to breathe and reflect on his situation.

He leans back on a tree, catching his breath and wipes an arm across his drenched forehead. It’s still bothering him that he has to run away from an offense he didn’t do. There’s something nagging in his head that there’s something wrong about this, but if Takeda thinks he’s in trouble, then he must really be. But what is he supposed to do then? And is this what the book wanted him to do in the first place? Is this part of his life?

He blinks, gaining a little clarity. The book! Of course. He looks around the dense forestry, trying to find a clear spot where the light of the moon shines through the canopies of leaves. He’s in luck that there’s one nearby and he makes his way there, already taking the satchel off. Just as he’s about to get his book, he hears a noise, hurried footsteps from the sound of it, and worse, it’s getting closer.

Daichi grits his teeth, pushing the book deeper into his satchel and makes another run for it, stepping into the darker parts, his sole goal is to create as much distance as he can from whoever they were. He turns to look behind him to check, but it proved to be a mistake as he bumps into something hard and the collision caused him to fall back on his behind with a loud thump and a pained groan.

One that is similarly echoed by what, or rather who, he crashed into.

Daichi sits up and inches away, squinting his eyes at the person until his eyes adjust in the darkness, noticing the shifting movement and makes out a familiar outline of ridiculously messy hair and an even more familiar person.

“You!” Daichi gasps, doesn’t think twice and throws himself into the person, pushing him further into the ground.

Kuroo groans and looks at him with a glare that slightly eased into annoyance upon recognizing who it is. “We really need to stop meeting in the dark like this, Sawamura.”

Daichi fists the front of his cloak and pulls him up harshly. “This is all your fault!” He says through gritted teeth, glaring a hole into Kuroo’s head.

“If it weren’t for what you said, the guards wouldn’t have misunderstood. Then I would still be back in my bed and you-” Daichi stops abruptly, jolted by the fact that Kuroo is here and not inside his cell. His eyes widen at the realization. “You…YOU ESCAPED?!”

Kuroo basks smugly for a few seconds in Daichi’s moment of incredulity, sending him a small quick smirk, before taking advantage of it and quickly rolls them over, successfully flipping their positions. He nimbly avoids a swinging arm, then grabs it and pins it to the ground above Daichi’s head.

Daichi tries to struggle, but Kuroo’s heavy weight and legs clamping on his sides keeps him down.

“While I’m impressed by your astute display of observation, I really need to be going now, Sawamura.”

“You’re not getting away with this!”

Before someone can get away though, they hear rustling and shouting, more footsteps being carried through the breeze and they both freeze, looking wildly and panicked at each other, no one daring to make a move or any sound.

Kuroo surprises Daichi by soundlessly lying fully down on him, a hand covering his mouth before he can even complain. This close, Daichi can hear Kuroo’s breathing, fanning against his ears, making him shiver from the contact; smell the scent of Kuroo’s cloak, mingling with the damp earth, and even feel his sweat drop into Daichi’s neck, but he doesn’t have time to worry about it, not when he sees light sweep above them and watch with wide eyes and bated breath as it pass over where they are.

Another footstep and Daichi’s sure they’re going to be caught but something rustles yet again on the other side and the guard abandons them to give chase.

It’s only when no sound come close to their way did Daichi release the air he’s holding in a shaky breath, allowing himself to relax for a moment, before remembering their positions. With a strength fueled by indignation and embarrassment, he pushes Kuroo and successfully gets the taller man off of him and scrambles backward to a sitting position.

Kuroo smiles deviously at Daichi. “Well, that was close,” he remarks flippantly, earning a glare from Daichi because the double meaning isn’t lost to him. He stands up and pats the dirt off his cloak and pants.

“If you’re ready, we need to go,” Kuroo thumbs to the direction behind him.

“What makes you think I’m going anywhere with you?”

Kuroo raises his eyebrows at Daichi at the mature display of attitude and shrugs. “Have it your way then. Good luck on navigating the forest and not getting caught!” He gives a mock salute then turns and walks away from Daichi.

Daichi stares at his back, mouth open at the audacity, before feeling a distinct sense of fear that pushed him to call out. “Wait!”

Kuroo stops and languidly turns his head to look back at him.

Biting down on his lips, Daichi exclaims a heartfelt ‘screw it’ inside his head, and quickly stands and hurries to Kuroo, slowing down as he nears and stops a few steps away in front of the outlaw.

“Just so we’re clear,” Daichi says, meeting Kuroo’s eyes seriously, “I’m not coming with you because I want to. I just don’t have a choice.”

Kuroo gives him a meaningful look and scoffs. “Typical Keepers. Spouting words like ‘want’ and ‘choice’, as if you know what it really means; as if you have any idea what it’s like to have one and live by it. Let me tell you now, you’re wrong.”

Daichi frowns at him.

“You always have a choice,” he continues. “Always had the freedom to choose. And right now, you’re choosing to come with me, instead of going back or staying here. You made that decision, so don’t tell me that you don’t have a choice, because right now, you are living it.” Kuroo relaxes and asks, “So tell me, how does freedom feel?”

Daichi squarely meets his eyes. “If this is freedom, then I don’t want it. I don’t want this fear, this wrongness. It doesn’t feel much, when you’re considered a criminal.”

“It’s still better than following a passage from a book and letting it dictate your life.”

It’s Daichi’s turn to scoff, shaking his head. He’s not going to discuss this with Kuroo right now. “Look, let’s just agree to disagree and leave now.”

Kuroo stares at him, seemingly looking for something and Daichi wonders what it is, but he probably finds none because he just shrugs a shoulder and continues to walk, brushing past Daichi’s shoulders and leads them to a place unknown.

-----

“Say,” Kuroo starts, a few long minutes into resting. “I’ve been meaning to ask, but what’s a law-abiding citizen like you doing in the forest and running away from the guards?” Apparently, he can’t not have something to fiddle with, and have picked up a thin branch, pulling it back, repeatedly letting it spring back and forth. He also has the annoying inability to keep silent.

“None of your business.”

“It kind of is, since you were blaming me.” He poorly imitates Daichi’s voice and the way he was seething earlier. “So, what gives?”  

Daichi grinds his teeth, an action he seems to be doing a lot around Kuroo to quell the anger but it only did so much. “What gives is that I’m wrongly accused of stealing the Compendiums, just because I visited you to investigate. They took what you said as evidence linking me to the Resistance.”

Kuroo sobers upon hearing that. “Oh.” Daichi’s consolation is that he has the decency to look a little guilty.

“I clearly don’t know anything about it. What was up with that anyway?” Daichi stands from the rock he’s sitting on and walks in front of Kuroo. “Who are they? How were they ‘wrong’ about me?”

Kuroo stops his fiddling and studies Daichi, reads his eyes which is something that is easier now that the sky is lightening as dawn is starting to break. “I’m not sure you’re ready to hear it,” he shakes his head.

Daichi’s face turns incredulous “What?! That’s not fair. You got me into trouble because of it. You owe me the truth for that.”

“And that’s the truth,” Kuroo insists. “Look,” he licks his lips. “This is not the time nor the place to be talking about this. And I personally don’t think you’re ready to know. You’re still close-minded so…not yet.”

Daichi takes little offense at being called close-minded but has a feeling that he cannot make Kuroo talk about it and resists the urge to pinch the bridge of his nose. But he’s not going to give up. He still needs answers. “Fine,” he says with a huff. “Don’t tell me about it. But tell me this, how did you escape?” He pushes an accusing finger on Kuroo’s chest.

Kuroo looks down on it and swipes it away pointedly. “I woke up to a commotion happening in one of the cells, too loud and too many guards for comfort. I was about to check what it was about when something was thrown into my cell. I picked it up and it was the keys. Only a fool wouldn’t take the opportunity, so I did.”

Spoken like a true criminal, Daichi thinks, but he stays quiet.

“Grabbed whatever hanging clothes I got my hands on and made a mad dash through the forest. Then you not-so-gently bumped into me and here we are. Satisfied?” Kuroo ask with a raised brow.

“The guards didn’t see you?” Kuroo shrugs with a mischievous smirk.

Daichi rolls his eyes and shakes his head but relents.

“What are you going to do now?” Kuroo unexpectedly asks him.

Daichi pauses stiffly. That is a question he also likes an answer to, because for once, he doesn’t have a definite one.

“I-I don’t know.” He deflates and steps back from Kuroo.

An upside of having your life planned out for you is that you’re left with nothing to worry or think about, especially with what to do with your future. But now that he’s suddenly thrown into this kind of predicament, he can’t help but feel that that kind of life makes work cut out for him.

“I’ve just been told to run away as far as I can, but I don’t know where, or how far, or how long I should keep running, how long should I hide. I don’t know!” He throws his hands in the air.

“I have to find the Compendiums to prove my innocence, but I don’t know where to start looking. And if I find it, then what? Will they even take me back? Will I have my life back?” His throat constricts while the sides of his eyes prick with welling tears, as the real possibility of not having a normal life back, not seeing his friends and family, crashes into him.

To think that just yesterday, he’s a stickler to the rules, Head Book Keeper, with his future mapped out for him, and just needs to consult his Book. Now… now he’s a runaway, mistaken outlaw travelling with a real, actual one, uncertain of what the next moment would bring and unsure about how this will affect the course of his whole life.

Adrenaline gives way to exhaustion, frustration, and fear that comes out of him as tears, a sob that welled-up from deep within breaks his voice and shakes his shoulders. Never mind that he’s showing vulnerability in front of what he considers an enemy.

This is simply all too much for him to take at the moment.

Kuroo stays quiet and lets him be, looks anywhere but him to give him some semblance of privacy. He offers Daichi a hesitant squeeze on the shoulder that is probably meant to be comforting. Daichi’s somehow surprised by the action, but nevertheless felt grateful for the consideration.

Feeling a touch better at having let it out, he wipes his tears and faces the journey ahead with a slightly restored conviction.

“I know it probably wouldn’t mean much to you,” Kuroo hazards, after gauging if it’s alright for him to say something. “But I can take you to the Community and maybe there you’ll find some answers.”

Daichi sniffs. It’s the last place he wants to be in, given his circumstances. He’s close to asking if he has a choice, but thinks better of it, Kuroo’s earlier words echo inside his head.

Choice. Kuroo said he’s always had them. He can choose. Can he really? He’s itching to reach for his book and read it, but a part of him that is scared of what he may find, wavers. He doesn’t know what’s in store for him and he’s not ready to find out.

If he says no, then he’ll have to search for the Compendiums by himself. But where will he start? If he says yes, will he really have answers to his questions? There seem to be more now, than before.

He looks at Kuroo, at the hesitant but hopeful look on his face. While he doesn’t completely trust him, he feels better doing this if he’s with someone, rather than alone. And having a place to start is as good as any. Making his decision, he nods. “Alright. I’ll go with you.”

Kuroo offers him a small smile, one that nearly unbalanced Daichi because it’s the first time that he sees it, and more importantly, it’s sincere. It’s a change from their constant head butting, and frowning and snarling.

“Well, I’m rested enough,” Kuroo says, lifting himself from the tree trunk he’s been leaning on. “Shall we?”

[fandomtrashwriting]

Second Chances [Part 7]

A couple of day have passed and bit by bit Class 1-L became used to their life at their new school, they already knew what life in high school was like, but being new students at UA meant they also had to take extra lessons, their grades were left the same way as in their previous schools, some of them had to take extra tuition classes in order to catch up, luckily some of their classmates were also able to help them by tutoring them, some didn’t need the tutoring while others needed it more than others.

When Thursday arrived everyone was ready to head to the cafeteria for some well-deserved lunch, some of them just wanted to stay in the classroom and rest instead. However, that moment of calm was interrupted. A few of them had noticed Zokujin stiff at the sound of loud footsteps heading to the classroom.

That’s when Bakugo slammed the door open and came barging inside the classroom, he was seething while looking for something...or rather someone as he marched towards Kana, who wasn’t paying attention, too busy putting her notebooks back into her bag, until she felt him gripping her wrist harshly and turning her towards him, making her yelp in surprise.

“H-hey! what are you doing?!” she asked with a small pained wince.

“Deku told me what happened, do you seriously think you’re above everyone else as to pretend you don’t remember us?! do you think you’re superior just because you have a quirk now?!” He growled at her, not realizing how her eyes were wide with surprise along with a trace of panic and dread.

“I-I don’t know what you’re talking about, let me go!” she tried to pull her arm away from him, but Bakugo’s grip wouldn’t budge.

“Hey!” Chava was quick to jump up from her seat, glaring harshly at the boy, eyes slowly starting to turn black “Leave her alone! She does not know you so leave it be, stupid boy!”

Meldori rushes over “Everyone! Calm down!” She hated fighting, she truly did. “Bakugo?! Just leave Kan-chan alone!” Meldori snapped at Bakugo, not noticing Kana’s confused expression over the nickname, just how did she know?

Bakugo turned to her, still enraged as he growled at her “And you! Why the fuck would you flunk that first exam?! Also, don’t say you did not flunk it, I know you did!”

Meldori flinched back before glaring at him “That’s none of your business Kacchan” she hissed venomously, missing the soft squeak of a chair as someone stood up.

Zokujin made very little sound as he walked to them, his heart drumming with fear as he got closer, he knew how to make little to no sound after living with his foster family “Um...Bakugo? Can you please….leave? You’re making….people uncomfortable” He says, shivering in place, he didn’t want to confront Bakugo, but it was not just him Bakugo was making uncomfortable but everyone else too, so he could swallow his fear to ask Bakugo to leave, but he was prepared for a punch this time. He was not prepared however, for the blond’s heated glare.

“Fuck off you useless extra! This does not concern you!” He turned back to the girl in front of him, ready to start yelling at her once more. Just to come face to face with Kana’s completely black eyes.

“I TOLD YOU TO LET ME GO!!!”

He felt a powerful hit landing in his gut, it sent him keeling to the ground, his eyes landed on Kana’s leg, the knee she had used to hit him with was covered in a black mass, making her kick stronger than average.

“I do not know you or anyone else here! I do not know why you are so persistent that we know each other but I hate it! Just leave me alone!!!” She shrieked painfully, her still black eyes filled to the brim with unshed tears as she ran off to the classroom.

“Wait, Kana!” Chava yelped, rushing after her.

Zokujin backed away from Bakugo before sneaking out of the classroom, Wittenstein was missing, so he’d have to find another teacher, that’s what he should do during this, right? Find a teacher? Find someone to help? The concept that someone would go out of their way to help was strange, but he was slowly warming up to it.

Bakugo stumbled back to his feet after catching his breath, anger still clear on his face at the thought she really didn’t seem to remember anything about him or Deku. He was already on his way to go looking for Kana again, but someone stopped him before he could take another step out of the classroom.

Mikumo, Mitsaru, and Zetsu stood in his way, effectively blocking the door “Going somewhere after harassing our classmates?” Mikumo hissed, his tone holding more hatred for him than the others did, like he’s hated him his whole life. “Not going to take responsibility for your actions? Or does no one give you trouble cause you are nothing but a tiny exploding Chihuahua?”

Bakugo’s blood was boiling in rage, a vein close to pop out on his forehead by the guy’s insult, but he didn’t have the chance to respond as his teacher quickly arrived at the scene, hair rising up in anger and his eyes glowing red. Zokujin took a few steps behind him, looking from a safe distance.

“Bakugo” Aizawa’s voice was low, terrifyingly low. “Care to explain why you are harassing the new students...again?” Everyone present in the classroom shivered in fear at the teacher’s voice, it almost made them want to rush and sit down on their proper seats…

Meanwhile Kana was still running away through the halls, bumping into more than one student without a care in the world, not hearing their complaining or even caring about where she was heading, all she wanted to do was run, and run, and run without looking back, pain overwhelming her thoughts.

That feeling of pain quickly turned into surprise the moment she crashed into something hard, making her fall back on the floor without even bothering to look up.

“Woah! Easy there! Where’s the fire?!” The person she crashed into quickly asked her, before a hand was in front of her, trying to help her back up on her feet.

“Are you ok?” He offered a hand that Kana slowly and with hesitation accepted, but she still did not look at him. “I am fine” she answered with a tiny voice.

A voice called from down the hall, the sound of footsteps echoing through the hallway before Chava slid into view, her eyes lighting up at the sight of Kana. “Kana! Hey!”

She jogged over to the girl’s side, grabbing Kana softly by the shoulders, her expression holding nothing but sympathy “Would you like to go sit outside for a while? I know a place in the school we can be alone for a bit”

Kana let out a small sniff before nodding softly, but not without looking at the guy she had crashed into, he was a blond and way taller than them both, he gave the girls a worried look also filled with confusion by their behavior.

"I am sorry for running into you, I should have paid more attention..." he smiled at them both before waving his hand.

"Do not worry about it, it takes more than that to knock me out" then he walked away, leaving both girls on their way. “See ya! Be more careful next time!”

“How nice” Chava commented before the both started to walk, Chava leading the way “Alright, let’s go clear your head, my friend”

The two had ended up under a tree near the fence of U.A, the surrounding forestry hiding the two students from prying eyes and allowing them to relax under the shade of the leaves, both just enjoying the sound of the birds and the feeling of the air on their skin. It had been silent between the two for a while, before Chava had sat up, resting her head on her knee and glancing over at Kana with a curious expression.

“That guys does not appear to know the meaning of ‘let go’, huh?”

“I don’t think he even knows the meaning of personal space, remember what he did to Zokujin?”

Chava huffed “Yeah, can’t forget that horrid boy. What a carbon”

A giggle escaped Kana, she had already calmed down and gave Chava a smile “Thanks Chava, I really needed this”

“It is what friends do,” Chava argued, smiling softly “Kana, we may have only known each other for a short period of time, but I want you to know that it’s okay for you to tell me anything, okay? I can tell that the way he was handling you was not the only reason you got upset, so, if you want to talk about it, I am here.

“Well…” Kana let out a sigh, trying to calm herself down a bit more before speaking again “It is a really long story...”

“Okay!” Chava shrugged with a dopey grin on her face “There is no need to be telling me, just want you to know when you’re ready, I’m here. Do force not it out”

“It is okay, I guess it was bound to come out at some point…”

……

By the time both girls were done talking, lunch had already finished. The both of them walked back to the classroom, there was no sign of Bakugo or Aizawa and everyone else was already in their seat. Along with their teacher.

They were dreadfully late, by a long shot, but Wittegenstein didn't seem surprised or even give them a reprimanding look, he just grinned "so glad you two are here!" There was paper work on each desk, but everyone appeared confused, and he did not bother bringing to light that they were late "go ahead and take a seat" he pauses. I feel like I am forgetting something....oh well, if it was important I would have remembered."

The both of them hurried to their seats, that’s when their teacher started explaining their class work, at least he was thorough with explaining the homework.

~The next day~

Corovo had woken them up somewhat early and shuffled them out after they had gotten ready. They were not sure where they were going, or why the classes 1-A and 1-B were coming with, and in their hero suits no less.

The buses were beginning to get full, but Iida had noticed the late class and their lack of hero costumes, none of them were dressed for the USJ at all, how lazy.

Iida came up to them “Where are your costumes? We are supposed to be training together, you should be wearing the proper hero equipment!” He asked them, only to be met with confused and puzzled expressions.

“What the fuck do you mean?” Joel asks, still rubbing the sleep from his face even after an hour of being awake “Teach just shuffled us out here too fucking early” Joel grumbles.

“It’s noon…” Mikumo groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose “What kind of training are we supposed to be doing?” Mikumo asked Iida who stared at them with almost mounting horror, to the class's confusion.

Joel shrugs “time to get the fuck on” he says, stumbling onto the bus tiredly.

Slowly the buses filled up with the last few students, 1-L could tell that they were in the dark on something, but they were not sure what, so they tried to discuss what it was that they were missing, clearly the hero costumes, but what training?

They noticed when they finally pulled into a parking lot with a huge building. As the students were let off, Mikumo could easily see the unease in 1-A in front of the building. He slunk off towards Izuku.

“Hey, Izu, what's wrong? You seem...unhappy here?” Mikumo said to Deku, who grimaced a little.

“Well, last time we were here…..it wasn’t a pleasant experience” Izuku said, Mikumo tilted his head.

“Why? What happened?” Mikumo asked, voice full of worry and concern.

“Well….we were attacked by the league of villains,” Izuku missed the surprise that flashed across Mikumo’s face followed by an angered dark look “but, we managed to get out of it with the help of the pros coming with Iida’s help”

Mikumo gives Izuku a wary look “I’m glad you’re alright, i didn’t know about that, and it makes me angry to think you could have gotten hurt”

Izuku gives him a soft smile “That’s nice, but you don’t have to worry since we’re all safe”

Mikumo smiles back softly, but now the teachers were leading everyone inside. Mikumo would have to say he’s really impressed by it and the different kinds of varieties this place sported, softly whistling “This place is huge….and diverse” he says in awe, Izuku flashes him a smile.

“Alright, everyone pay attention” Aizawa called out the three classes, everyone paid attention as him, Vlad and Wittegenstein stood in front of them, Thirteen was standing a few feet apart from them, observing from their spot.

“Since someone didn’t bother to explain what this is about…” he gave an oblivious Wittegenstein a side glare, while the teacher just grinned happily without a care in the world “I guess I’ll have to explain it myself”

Class 1-L was confused, they noticed the other two groups were pretty calm, like they already knew what this was all about.

“You are going to participate in a training exercise for Class 1-L to catch up with our classes” he pointed at Vlad with his thumb “You are going to be part of a team of two against one group, but it is going to be an exercise to help you understand better your quirks, strengths and weaknesses, you are going to help your classmates grow” the last words were directed at class 1-A and 1-B.

“This time we’re doing the exercise at USJ in order for you to realize where will your quirks have an advantage or disadvantage” Vlad continued from that point “Sometimes your surroundings will be in your favor, other times they will leave you struggling, this will help you adapt to different surroundings”

There was a murmur going through 1-L, some of the students began to study the other two classes to discover their strengths and weaknesses. They missed the door being open as they were talking among themselves. Mikumo froze when he heard the voice “I AM HERE”

The students turn to the voice, seeing a smiling small form All Might, missing the fact that three students were observing nervously at the retired hero.

He gave everyone a smile “Hello, I will be here giving advice while others do their training.

Shitae hums “All Might, i think you lost a bit of weight, i could whip you up something super duper fast!”

Moreover, fast it was, she somehow pulled out a happy meal from the ceiling and handed it over to All Might, but if there is one thing he remembers from the entrance exam was her quirk appeared based on cartoon humor.

All Might gave it a shot and opened the happy meal box, only for a rather squeaky voice All Might toy to pop up with “I am here!” and flexing with squeaks like a dog toy.

All Might couldn’t help but laugh, Izuku managed to sneak closer to them, grinning, then gasping in wonder at the sight of the toy “Wait! That’s an American collection toy! They were only sold for a year! How did you get one?”

Shitae grins “Came with the happy meal” as if that explained how she had a toy that was supposedly ten years old but looked brand new, at least the food was still hot, freshly made even.

“Attention up front everyone” Aizawa said, seemed the interaction was funny since he wasn’t reprimanding them “For this exercise, you’ll be starting from one point and working your way to another point, each starting and ending will be different for each group. Class 1-A, it is your job to collect the various Civilian dolls laying about during your run, not getting any will be marked against you. However, 1-A and 1-B need to apprehend and slow down 1-L, all three of you need to try and minimize the damage you make to the surrounding area, cause not only are the civilian dolls counted as civilians, the buildings also have numerous civilian dolls, most civilians run at the sign of danger and usually head inside, some of them can’t or at worst cases faint from fright, there’s also the few that stay to watch” Aizawa turned to 1-L “Your job is only to get from point A to point B and not to get caught, and the chances of the groups running into each other is possible, in that case just ignore the other group and continue chasing the 1-L student from your group”

“The following first four groups are: First group is Yaoyorozu, Shishida and Kayama. Second group is Iida, Honenuki, and Turismo. Third group is Sero, Tokage, and Onigumo. And the fourth group is Koda, Shiozaki, and Shiromori. These four groups will wait ten minutes till they head out, everyone else will wait for their turn” explained Aizawa.

Momo and Jurota approached Chikako

“Hello again, Kayama” Momo started, bowing slightly in greeting “I just wanted to wish you good luck and I wanted to warn you; you may be new to the school, but I have seen your strength and I won’t hold back!”

Jurota bows at Chikako “I hope we can all do our best Ms. Kayama” really, class 1-L was at a disadvantage for not knowing most of 1-A’s and 1-B’s quirks, unless they saw the sports festival, and at which point they’re matched in knowledge more or less.

Chikako wasn’t going to lie, she was nervous, barely knowing about her opponent’s quirks was a disadvantage, barely being able to watch a small fraction of the sports festival, courtesy of her grandmother’s dislike towards heroes, but it was a good thing her mother told her a few things of what happened. Speaking of her mother, she remembered the words she told her one time, “Fake it ‘till you make it”, she was a shy person, but steeled her nerves before answering them.

“T-Thank you for helping me with this training, I hope I can learn a lot from both of you!” The way she said those words with what she thought was a confident face was nearly adorable, it looked like she was pouting.

Ford had quickly found the people he was to be trained with, vibrating with excitement “Howdy there! You guys are Iida and Honenuki, right??” He was a fast talker, managing to say more words than it took someone to breathe.

Iida was taken back by Ford’s cheerful attitude and fast talking, but that didn’t mean he thought of him as someone inexperienced.

“That is correct, I’m Iida Tenya as you may recall from our last meeting, I hope we can learn from each other with this exercise” he made his usual hand gestures as he greeted his new classmate.

Ford blinked before flushing in embarrassment “Oh! Right! I forgot! Sorry, sometimes I forget stuff a little too easily.” Ford turned to Honenuki “I didn’t meet you and forget too, right?”

“Nope” Honenuki held out his hand “Name’s Honenuki Juzo. I saw you during your entrance exam, you are pretty fast”

Ford grins even more “Really?! I did not even know any of the students were watching. Luckily you did not see me going too fast, when I go too fast I cannot breath and that really sucks, and I am talking too much, aren’t I?” Ford happily shook Juzo’s hand.

“It’s cool, but yeah, we got to watch with the judges in a spectator room” Honenuki replied, placing his hands into his pockets once Ford had released his hands “Though, it does mean we know you’re Quirk, so expect us to exploit your weaknesses for our gain”

Ford looked like someone who realized he had fucked up, but he recovered and grinned “well, thanks for telling me that you are going to use my weaknesses, just do not let me faint.

“Will do, bud. Will do”

Chura had met Sero during that apology cake thing, they hadn’t talked per-say, but Chura was aware of him. It was this Tokage he didn’t know anything about, but should he seek her out and learn about her, or stay and watch from afar? There are many little things people betray when they are not engaged with another person in conversation. However, did he feel like engaging with her?

“Hey, it’s good to see you again” Sero had greeted him with a friendly smile “Seems like we’re up against you, think you’re ready?”

Chura turned to look at Sero, he remembered the sports festival and was trying to place what he had seen with Sero “I think so, it’ll certainly be interesting” namely since Chura didn’t use some of his abilities during the exam, like his webbing.

“I most certainly hope so, think you can keep up with us?” Neither of them had noticed Setsuna had already made her way towards them, a confident vibe around her. “The entrance exam was one thing, from this point it gets harder, think you can do it?”

Chura smiles sweetly “I can hope and try my best” He said, he’s fairly certain he hasn’t seen Tokage’s quirk, but that won’t stop him, and if the teachers are even half as competent as he’d hope, she might be an issue for his quirk, possibly something that doesn’t get stuck on webs or maybe she can make his webs useless? He will have to see.

From the start of the class they were already near one another, so Zetsu, ever so bored, started to grow some flowers from a nearby plant and start braiding flowers together to form a flower crown. Zetsu often did this when he was stressed, and since he knew nothing about Koda and knew very little about Shiozaki made this hard and stressful. Was her hair vines? Could he control it? He had no idea and focused on the flower crowns, but he could feel the stares as he made the crowns “You guys can join if you want, I can make more.

“How wonderful!” Shiozaki walked over, plopping down next to Zetsu “You have been blessed with such crafts, my friend. Your crowns look beautiful, such a delicate and precise handmanship.

Koda nodded silently with a small smile full of excitement, he may not be pretty vocal, but the idea of making flower crowns really got his attention, he carefully followed his classmates instructions with a keen eye.

Zetsu nods “Thank you, my mother taught me” He didn’t say much else, he wasn’t known as a very chatty person, but the silence was peaceful compared to some of the rowdy classmates, and any time they made a mistake, he’d gently correct them and was a rather good teacher for this delicate craft.

~Group One~

The sound of a loud buzz was heard all around the training center, it was time to start the exercise.

Chikako's starting point was the city, a place where her quirk had more chances to react to something. She quickly made a run for it, trying to lose her opponents as quickly as possible, but much to her surprise neither of them both moved from their spot just yet. Curiosity filled her thoughts, why were they not moving yet? However, she could not let that distract her, the goal was to reach the landslide zone, better keep running!

After a minute her head start was up, perhaps she knew she had a head start, perhaps she did not know. But both Jurota and Momo took off after her, Jurota having the upper-hand with speed, quickly gaining ground.

She needed a distraction, and fast. Concentrating on a certain composition, her arms slowly started to release a curtain of black smoke, hiding her from view before quickly making a turn, hiding from their view and taking a detour, that could save her some time.

With the visual of her form lost to him, Jurota resorted to try and sniff her out as she had a rather distinct scent.

“Here” Momo handed a mask over to Jurota, adjusting her own mask on her face “She creates fragrances from her body, so this should protect us from attacks”

Jurota nodded “Thank you, he pocketed it for later use” but, if she can create fragrances from her body, she could just change her scent and for him to keep losing and gaining it, but he was determined.

Jurota and Momo followed through the dark smoke, it was already lifting, meaning she must have stopped making it a while ago, but they wouldn’t find her.

However, as he sniffed the air, a familiar smell crossed his nose “I think I am smelling cinnamon?”

“Cinnamon?” Momo mimicked “Anything else?”

Jurota furrows his brows “Clove too, and i think, orange? No, there is something else in it.

“That sounds like Chai tea-” The thought struck her “When we talked, Chikako smelled of Chai, I- I think that’s her scent that you smell”

Meanwhile Chikako kept running as fast as she could, so far she had managed to keep some distance away from the both of her opponents, but she had to think of something to defend herself, in case they got closer. Call it a coincidence, she realized her surroundings were covered with trash “Talk about paying attention to details, UA really pays attention to everything…” she mumbled to herself.

There in the distance was the sound of thundering footfalls as it got rapidly faster to her point. The noise made her turn around towards the source, her eyes got wide and her face quickly began turning blue at the sight of Jurota heading her way, he was speeding up towards her with Momo mounted on his back with a weapon in hand, it was like watching something out of a fantasy novel, a knight riding a beast into battle...and Chikako was the villager in the knight’s way.

“EEEEEEEEKK!”

Was it possible for someone like her to run even faster? She was not sure, but she was not going just to stand there, her body went into a panic mode, adrenaline quickly taking over as she ran like her life literally depended on it, well...perhaps not her life, but definitely her grade.

Back at UA Midnight felt a shiver through her body “...Why am I suddenly filled with rage?”

It was nearly comical, the way Chikako was running away, her classmates noticed, the teachers noticed, even her opponents noticed it. Nobody realized she was already close to the midpoint, almost ready to cross into the landslide zone.

Jurota had managed to get up upon Chikako and grab her in a mock bear hug, trying to hold her still so Momo could tie the capture tape on her.

It seemed like the adrenaline on Chikako's body was still high, she started struggling against Jurota's hold, kicking and yelling in panic, accidentally knocking the masks off both opponents, she was so nervous her quirk activated on accident, letting out a huge curtain of orange gas, making both of her opponents scream. She had created a stink bomb on accident, luckily the gas did not reach her as well.

The moment Jurota released her, Chikako made a run for it, the panic had already started to wear off...only for something to crash into her, knocking her out she could almost hear tweety bird talking around her head.

~Group Two~

“No, I will not move” grumbling Ford, he refused to take his head start, and he realized it swiftly. All because it appeared unfair to him, "Why should I be given a head start? It is not fair to anyone to baby me” if nothing else he is an honest and fair person.

“Well, you’ve only just started the hero course” Honenuki argued, “We’ve been doing this stuff for a few months now, I’m sure the teachers just want to make it fair on you since we have experience and you, well, you don’t”

"Exactly!" Iida's hand waved around almost madly "The purpose of this exercise is for you to learn with our assistance! We are not babying you! We are supposed to be an example for an aspiring hero such as yourself!"

Ford huffs softly before relenting “Fine” he grumbles, much like a grumpy child “I will take the head start” and it was not much of a head start with how long they have argued at that spot. However, he did start running off, not ready to run at full speed till he needed it.

The Landslide zone was rather flat around the base, and he was avoiding taking the high path where he could be spotted faster by Iida or Honenuki. He was so focused watching out for his opponents that he didn’t realize one of them had finally caught up to him, Iida was already behind him, following his pace without much effort. At some point he nearly managed to use the capture tape on Ford, making him dodge and run into a different direction.

Ford picked up his speed, being careful to alternate his speed with how long he could comfortably hold his breath as he tried to outrun Iida. Ford knew Iida’s quirk, but the fact he didn’t know what Honenuki could do left a feeling of suspense and dread, Honenuki could feasibly do anything.

Actually, he couldn’t hear Iida chasing him after a few minutes, even after he slowed down and it filled his mind with questions and worry, was Iida hurt? Should he return? Maybe-

Ford’s thoughts halted like a train, screeching metal trying to slow down enough for him to become aware of the fact his foot had sunk right into soft ground, confusion and worry for himself, as well as a deeper worry for the others, unless this was Honenuki’s quirk?

Ford struggled trying to climb out of the softened earth, but he picked up on the sounds of footfalls hurrying towards him, so he began to vibrate in place to help loosen himself faster, he doesn’t have much time if Iida is close by, only managing to get out before they could try and grasp him. Ford pushes himself to run fast for a moment, fast enough to get away from them at least, and until he needs to breathe.

Honenuki glanced over to where Ford had run off, a small smile on his face as he huffed “That’s was a pretty smart move” Iida appeared beside him soon after, analyzing the situation at hand before coming up with an idea.

“Honenuki! I have an idea, but you will need to get on my back in order to make it work!”

“Alright” Honenuki was quick to hop on, letting out a choked gasp when Iida quickly zoomed off, Honenuki barely catching himself before tightening his grip.

Ford had slowed down, he ran a little too far without breath and his world spun for a bit as he wheezed in the air carefully, he could not glop down the air or risk fainting. After a moment his world stopped rolling, he could have sworn he heard someone run past him, but he was uncertain.

Ford then ran farther, making sure to maintain a fast speed, unaware when he had missed the well-placed and hidden trap that he dashed over, not touching it by sheer luck.

Frustration was clear on Iida’s face, Ford was fast, way too fast, they’d need distraction in order for him to fall into another trap. “I am going after him” he used his recipro burst for a second time, quickly catching up with the hyperactive guy once again, and this time they would catch him for sure.

Ford gave a grin when he heard Iida catching up with him, honestly it was fun racing him. But, he noticed the trap up ahead, seemed like it was formed quickly, but he certainly didn’t notice the watery area near it, they weren’t close enough for most people, but Ford was still trying to outrun Iida, so of course he’s going to jump this trap and go as fast as he has been, no reason to hold back. Right?

“FORD! WATCH OUT FOR THE PUDDLES!” He could hear Iida’s voice laced with worry and panic, he didn’t realize the guy had stopped abruptly on his chase, much less the fact that he had already gotten close to the bodies of water laying dangerously close near his path and all over the ground.

Ford turned his head to Iida “WHAT?” He yelped as he slipped and almost went faster across the water as he tried to stop himself, not even noticing when he slammed right into Chikako and sent the both of them crashing into a wall. Ford stumbled away from it before falling to the ground and staying there, his face, which had slammed into the wall, was bloodied and he appeared a little too dazed before something crossed his mind and he tried to sit up “Are you all right?” his words slurred together as his world just spun like a tabletop. Chikako was out for the count and couldn’t reply to Ford to his increasing worry.

Despite his previous warning to be careful, Iida also came running into their direction, Honenuki close by as well.

"What happened?! Are you both all right?!" Iida was panicking more out of everyone around them, he quickly started checking both Ford and Chikako for any fatal injuries.

Chikako only had a large ugly bruise from when Ford collided into her, and other than being out cold and making funny sounds, she was fine. Ford on the other hand had a concussion and appeared to be out of it, not to mention he was bruised by somehow being the only one who hit the wall.

Ford blinked at Iida, confused “How’d you get here so fast?” his voice was slurred and he couldn’t hold a steady eye contact, or gaze period, he was looking at every little thing that caught his attention, if it caught his attention.

Thirteen and Vlad quickly arrived at the scene, both were quick to inspect the student’s injuries.

“Turismo, how many fingers do you see?” Thirteen held up two fingers in front of the dazed boy.

“I see an astronaut...when did I get to space?” Ford slurred, really wondering why he was seeing an astronaut-oh look, a bird. Everyone else could only stare at him with disbelief, had this been a different situation more than one person would have laughed at this kid’s answers.

Ford glanced around curiously, seemingly distracted by everything “Hey Iida...when did you start dressing like a knight?” To Ford, too much and too little time had passed, as if it took too long for it to happen but everything was happening much too fast for his brain to maintain.

13 had called the medical robots while the dazed boy asked Iida about his knight clothes and “When did you get knighted?” However, the questions started to trail off as Ford appeared to have gotten tired.

Thirteen turned to the quieting Ford and snapped their fingers at him “Hey, stay with me” the loud sound startled him awake and he looked at 13.

“Another astronaut? What happened to the other one?” Ford questioned dazedly.

“They are around, there are two of us” 13 replied, making sure Ford stayed with them and kept talking.

Ford nodded sagely “That is a lot of astronauts” completely missing the robots moving him onto a stretcher “Are they astronauts too?”

“Sure, tell me what you know about astronauts” 13 tried to engage Ford.

Ford hums “Apparently they have knights” he rambled, “How do they knight knights? Do they have to go to the moon? Fight aliens? Kiss aliens? I do not know...but that would be a lot of kisses though”

Another group of robots took Chikako as well, while it appeared there was nothing broken she was still knocked out. Vlad watched half-worriedly at the girl being taken back to UA.

“Everything alright?” Thirteen was confused by their co-worker's behavior, Vlad just groaned while running a hand through his face. “It’s just…Her mother’s going to kill us…”

~Group 3~

Unlike Ford, Chura wasn’t someone who waited for others, he took off the moment the buzzer sounded. He did not care if it was a head start or not, he would put as much space between them as he could. He was clever and he could solve how much time it might take for the others to catch up with him when his unknown amount of a head start was over.

The constant rain would affect his webbing, but perhaps he could still power through it? Chura had disabled his empathy, feeling his legs strengthen and his emotional connect and feelings vanish. Chura was already making great time with having turned off his empathy, but he was careful to know when to turn it back on, namely when Tokage or Sero got close to him. He did not appear to notice a floating eye spying on him from afar...

“He stopped moving, I think he’s got a plan” Tokage informed this to her teammate, a part of her face was missing, it could be a scary sight to see in the middle of the night “There’s something about his spider limbs, they look...different”

“What do you mean?” “They appear bigger...and barbed?, kind off reminds me of an armored tarantula...I think we should avoid direct contact and try a different approach” her gaze went to Sero, a smirk adorning her face “I have a plan”

Chura slowed down, enough to fully set up the traps for Sero’s grade. Holding the civilian dolls aloft in the downpour zone, he makes sure to tie it. If the wind breaks the web or unsticks the dolls, all of them will come crashing down and it will affect their grades, and if they are smart they will save the dolls first.

After Chura had some of those set up, he hurried further, he made sure to study the map beforehand, before they set out to this zone, and if memory serves him right, he should be at the middle part soon. That is, when he felt their presence nearby, or rather, he heard them coming.

The sound of Sero’s tape being shot was clear enough for him to guess he was close. Soon enough, he appeared from the right, shooting some of his tape in Chura’s direction with the intention of immobilizing his opponent, who quickly managed to avoid the tape, but even if Sero wanted to try and immobilize him again he quickly noticed the trap he had walked into.

“Sheesh, that’s kind of harsh, isn’t it?” he thought once he caught sight of the dolls being “held hostage” by Chura’s web, they were close to falling from quite a good height. One of them started falling, making the young hero take a fast swing, rescuing the doll before shooting more tape in the other’s direction, effectively preventing them from hitting the ground.

Meanwhile Half of Tokage’s body was following Chura, her upper half watching from a safe distance, waiting for the perfect moment to strike, her opponent was fast, and judging by his body language, he was an aggressive fighter.

Chura made sure to keep on running, he still had empathy off and was still hauling ass out of the downpour zone, he was so close to the edge of the leaving the first zone. A large puddle of water rippled and shot out at him, it was a hand, and by the size of it he’d say it was Tokage’s. Was this her quirk? To send parts of her flying at him? He did not want to change the paths from the straight exit from his starting zone. That all he did was bring his spider legs up closer to his body.

It grasped on one of his spider legs firmly and tried to pull him towards somewhere but halted and dropped off from him. His spider legs were poisonous, a venom in the hairs that paralyzed you when it came into contact with you while also giving you the sensation of biting ants all over it, or pins and needles as some might call it.

Chura kept running after the hand fell, he didn’t know what the poison could do in a small limb like that, won’t kill, but it’d certainly hurt like hell. But Chura breathed a sigh of relief as he crossed the line of the downpour zone, now he had a line to follow to get to the other zone.

Chura glanced back, they could catch up with him, he knew that, but…

Chura turns his attention back to the front of him and runs, he’s not sure what will happen if he loses and he doesn’t want to find out.

Even with her arms split from her body, Tokage could feel the small jabs of pain on her limbs, wincing lightly at the sensation, that guy had more trick up his sleeve they didn’t knew about, he hadn’t used everything he knew during the entrance exam, but at least now she knew his spider limbs had poison.

“Not bad at all." She smirked despite the pain before floating away to start looking for her teammate.

It was kinda a pain to deal with these things, if Sero had to be honest with himself. He always liked arachnids, even had a pet back in the day, but one thing that really appeared to grind his gears was dealing with damn webbing. Did matter not how similar his tape was to the substance, tape was easier to handle, easier to grasp, however, webs were strings of pure bullshit and became sticky cotton in his hands, for God's sake-

“Finally!” He groaned, swinging down to place the remaining doll on a solid surface just outside the downpour zone. “I should still have some time to catch up-”

“Sero!” he could hear the voice of Tokage from behind him, only the upper half of her body was there floating “His spider legs have poison and he’s already left the zone, he’s heading to the Mountains, we need to catch up fast!”

“Shit, really!?” Sero was quick to swing forward, hanging just alongside the girl “Need help gathering your other parts?” Tokage gave him a nod “be careful though, his poison paralyzed them, if I call them back into my body the poison could spread, I could grow them back but it takes a lot of energy, so it’s easier to call them back”

“Good to know, Tokage!”

Chura wasn’t certain if he was that far ahead of them or they were lagging behind. He did nearly miss a crash into Ford who slammed into Chikako, now THAT looked like it hurt. However, he could not stop for them and pressed himself faster, he wanted to get to his zone. All class 1-L had was a colored ‘line’ to follow, they did not know what zones they started or ended up in, their chasers knew that, he would stake his grade on that.

Chura honestly felt like laughing when he realized what his next zone was, the mountain area. He had a better chance of getting away, there was not a chance of the rain weakening his webs or to wash away any of his other attacks. Already when he crossed into the next zone he was starting to string up new traps, better traps, he is sure they are getting dissatisfied with them at this point.

Something small fled past his face, startling him out of his line of focus, then more of these...things started floating around him, surrounding and distracting him at the same time, Tokage had already caught up with him and was trying to distract him.

He narrowly dodges the foot that flies past his head, the heel just brushing against his cheek.

“Dammit” Sero laughed “Thought that would work”

“Can you perhaps not throw my foot!?” Tokage was obviously joking, but annoyance was also obvious on her face.

A sweat drop formed on Sero’s brow as he shot back a quick apology, neither realizing that Chura had slipped away from them as they argued.

Having lived a good chunk of his life climbing trees and exploring the thick forest with his childhood friends back in the day when they could, he knew his way around it. Chura was leaping through the treetops to get a better view as he jumped tree branch to tree branch, all he had to do was get to the finish line.

Chura could already hear Sero’s tape, a very distinct difference in the words. Tokage however was harder to spot, maybe he should use that one trick? It appeared like a good idea as he rolled it over in his mouth, thinning it out of its potency.

A sudden barrage of hits got him from behind, more of Tokage’s body pieces had hit him in the back to ambush him, her attacks seemed more desperate, like she was trying to get this exercise over with as soon as possible.

Chura breathed out a mist like substance that had Tokage’s limbs falling to the ground and not responding, but at least there was no pain in them as Chura pressed onwards, trying to get to the finish line as fast as he could, but where was Sero? Tokage was chasing him, but Sero was missing and it left a bad taste in his mouth.

Then he heard it, the noise of snapping branches and rustling leaves before Sero brakes free from the treeline just ahead of him, a look of triumph plastered on his face when he caught Chura’s gaze.

“Bet you did not expect that!” He was quick to send another tape attack “I am not going to let you go this time!”

Chura grinned, the moment he heard the rustling his legs were working to make the webbing as he ran, flinging it at Sero’s helmet, and with it a nice clear and even warm in the mountain zone, that web won’t be coming off easily. Chura barely held in his laughter over Sero’s loud curse over the webbing, dodging in time from the tape attack that instead struck Tokage, who screamed in surprise by the sudden attack.

Chura uses the opportunity the chaos granted him and ran as fast as he could, he could see the finish line! Fuck! Finally! His hysterical laughter as he flopped onto the ground, he breathed a sigh of happiness before realizing that Corovo was standing over him

“Seems you passed,” Corovo said, a grin ever present, Chura groaned as he got up, running for who knows how long straight left him sore. “Go ahead and head on back to the front” Corovo says and is gone the next moment.

Chura grumbled lightly as he walked back, only to find those two still struggling. But, then again, he did put out his best webbing and Tokage is missing maybe more than half of her body “Need some help? Can you guys breathe?” He had to at least make sure Sero could breathe, he didn’t know how that helmet was designed.

“It would be appreciated!” Sero couldn’t help but laugh “And I’m fine, you just got my visor!”

Chura smiles “That’s good, how are you holding up Tokage?” He asks as he starts to help separating the tape. Tokage gave him a smile “I’m alright, just one question, how long until the poison wears off? now that’s what I call a pain”

“About an hour, not sure since you’re….split up like that, might be longer, but usually an hour” Chura had replied, finally getting the tape off of Tokage.

She let out a whistle “That long uh? Well in that case just give me a few minutes, I think I would rather grow back my body, just give me a hand will you? Once I am done my quirks takes a substantial amount of my energy”

Chura nodded “Sure, need a piggyback ride?” "Sure, just ensure not to drop me" she laughed.

Chura scoffed playfully “I would never” his tone and grin said otherwise. But, he didn’t drop her and was also leading Sero back to the front. He glanced at the blood on the wall from where Ford had rammed into earlier, wondering how bad it was. However, when they got back to the front, a few other students surrounded them to ensure everyone was fine.

“What’s that on your face?” Kishin had asked Sero when her curiosity had gotten the better of her “Do you need help getting it off?”

“Oh this?” he pointed at his helmet “It is just some webbing, but I could really use the help, I am officially done with webbing.” he sighed in defeat at the thought of how long it would take him to get it off.

Kishin couldn’t help but reach forward “Then I’ll help” She says as she tried to gently pull off the Webbing, it felt sticky but thick, like rope but covered in syrup almost. But Kishin was thorough and oddly fast in removing the webbing, even managing to get it off before the next group of matches “There we go” she sighed happily, her hands kind of cramped, but it felt nice to help someone out.

“Thanks” Sero said, maybe a little surprised with how fast she got it off, but then she flashed him a bright smile and “no problem” and he felt his cheeks heat up, only a little bit.

Neither of them seemed to notice Mina looking at them with both hands in front of her face, trying so hard not to squeal loudly at the sight and quickly taking a picture of their little encounter.

~Group four~

Zetsu had reminded Koda “Don’t forget the dolls, your grade is riding on them” before he had run off, taking his head start. Zetsu made sure to try and not use his quirk too much, he had a few tricks left and didn’t want to show them off just yet. So he would stick with just running for now, but he should keep an eye out for any water.

Zetsu saw plenty of dolls along his run to the opening of the zone, but it’ll be a matter of time before the other two try to catch up with him.

Both of his opponents went after him. But Koda stopped in his tracks once he saw the dolls he was supposed to rescue, remembering what the teachers said about their grades should anything happen to a single one, he wasn’t going to risk it and decided to stay behind in order to “rescue” them.

“Ibara, please go ahead while I take care of the dolls, I’ll catch up as soon as I’m done!” He called out some animals to help him release the dolls and take them to the safe zone, he had to thank Jiro though, if it wasn’t for the time she helped him overcome his fear of bugs, He wouldn’t have been able to summon them and ask them to carefully take the dolls into the safe zone

"Right, of course" Ibara clasped her hands together, her eyes closing "Be sure to stay safe, my ally, I will be sure to stop the him for our win" And then she was off, running towards the direction that Zetsu had taken off in.

If there was one thing that Ibara had remembered during her immense training schedule at the training camp that wasn't the suffocating gas that she had fallen victim to, it were the words of her teacher, her dear mentor, explaining to her the depth of her weaknesses.

"You rely on your Quirk too much, you do not move when you fight" Vlad's gruff echoed in her ears "You need to learn to use your entire body, staying in one place could 'cause serious harm in the future if you are not careful"

"However, how can I improve myself, sir?" She had asked.

Vlad had smirked in return.

"You need to figure that out for yourself, kid"

Moreover, she had.

Her hair jerked to life, the vines spreading out around her and lifting her from the ground and she was practically flying towards her destination.

Zetsu wasn’t a track runner back in school, but he wasn’t that slow either; even though he had stopped a few times by a stream of water to regain his strength and push on. He could have sworn he heard a funny sound like a swish, but he did not appear to find it after a quick sweep of the eyes before continuing on.

He could see the entrance of the mountain zone, but he had still yet to see Shiozaki or Koda and it left a worrying squirm in his stomach. Did they get lost? Alternatively, perhaps they are setting a trap for him? He can never be too careful.

A sudden wall of vine sprouted in front of him, almost lashing out at him as he jumped backwards, further from them. Zetsu dodged the grasping vines as his eyes scanned the area and found Shiozaki, hidden a little behind some trees. He forced the vines to change directions and grab her, pinning her to the tree she was hiding behind.

With her and her vines distracted for a moment, he quickly ran by and out of the zone, Shiozaki shrieks in surprise, fading a little as he ran and thought. If this zone was easy for him, then likely the next one would be hard, which would probably be anything with fire.

Zetsu ran the distance to the next zone, passing up a flooding midway point and a blood splatter on the wall. He was uncertain who left it since he is one of the slowest runners, but it looked like it had hurt badly.

The rest of the run to the fire zone was peaceful, the fire zone made him feel like he was withering, so he would have to push himself faster, slow down to retain energy, or go underground. All of which had pros and cons and not sufficient time to identify the best strategy.

He had to think fast, since Koda had already managed to catch up to him, there were no animals around him, they would also be in danger in the fire zone. But that didn’t seem to bother some insects, he called forth a barrage of them, which quickly covered half of Zetsu’s lower body in a similar way like Koda had done to Present Mic.

“Do not let him get away!” Koda ordered the insects covering his opponent’s body.

Back at U.A. Present Mic could feel a shudder course through his whole body, just like THAT one time.

Zetsu seemed much calmer than Present Mic, gently shaking away the bugs. He saw that he could not get away that easily and decided to take a more discreet route. He seemed to rapidly sink into the ground, leaving the bugs above and confused as he popped up out of the ground behind Koda and started running away towards the finish line, the fire seemed much closer than it did when he first got there.

Shiozaki's vines once again rushed out, whipping around violently as they gained on Zetsu's form, but he had stopped to face her, forcing her vines to try and trap her and Koda, instead they ended up in a stalemate of wills as the vines thrashed around, not moving forward or being pushed back.

They were locked like that for a moment till Shiozaki’s concentration was broken by the flames getting too close and nipping at her heels, causing her to jump back in surprise, but it gave Zetsu the needed distraction as he forced her vines to wrap around herself and Koda away from the spreading flames.

He turned and ran to the finish line, he crossed it and cheered for a moment. But he felt light headed even as he turned back to Shiozaki and Koda, he needed to help them out and to get some fresh air.

Zetsu helped untangle the vines and lead the three of them out of the fire zone, what a smart idea of the teachers to send three people who needed plants or animals to a fire zone, even smarter to not have people nearby when they started feeling light headed.

As Zetsu managed to get out of the fire zone and breathed in the air, he felt a little better, but his two companions weren’t doing that good, if anything, he could guess they might have passed out from the little air they had in the fire zone, just where the fuck was a teacher?

Zetsu managed to pull them to the midway point where the area was flooded a bit. He ripped a part of his shirt and used the water to help dampen his comrades. He did not know how to help with an issue like this, he was not a firefighter or knew anything about smoke, his knowledge lay in plants.

That’s when Aizawa finally appeared, looking a tad shaken before catching sight of the three students, two of them passed out. “We lost sight of you during the fire, how are you holding up Shiromori?” He asked while putting a hand on the other student’s wrist and starting to check out their vitals, their pulse appeared fine, but they would need to be taken back to Recovery girl, just in case.

Zetsu snapped a glare at Aizawa, he seemed like he had a lot to say but chose not to say it “I am fine.” he bit out “but these two aren’t” the air seemed cleaner and more fresh.

The teacher gave him a nod “We will take them to Recovery girl. You did a good job pulling them out of the fire zone.

Zetsu nodded softly, he didn’t feel like talking anymore, that fire zone drained the last bit of his energy and he struggled walking back to the entrance of USJ with Aizawa, but the moment he spotted the water fountain, he pretty much dived into it, refusing to get out as he sighed contently from the cool water. Zetsu heard a sigh from someone but he couldn’t care enough to open his eyes and see who.

[livingthervdream]

Yellowstone Day 2

Sleeping in again, I could really get used to this. Today our plan is to head to the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. We round up in the car and head off. As we leave our campsite, we see a buffalo just sitting chillaxin about 30-50 feet from a person’s tent. Crazy!

We start driving into the park and the kids begin to get restless. Kids are seated 3 across the middle row of the suburban we rented. GB didn’t want to put the back row up and have the haste of Andrew getting in and out. Well with 3 of them that close in proximity to one another things are bound to happen. He touched me, she looked at me, really bad knock knock jokes…you get the picture. GB and I finally have to put the hammer down to stop. Libby responds “I’m just going to look at the fu$&*+%# trees”. The whole car gets quiet. Ali asks “ what did you say Libby?” And clear as day she says “I’m just going to look at the fu$&*+%# trees”. Andrew and Ali start to laugh. I look st GB in disbelief but trying to belt out a big laugh. Now for those of you who don’t know, GB lays out some choice words every now and then…I just turn and look at him…now you really need to stop swearing. He has been sending me Facebook posts about how people who swear are smarter than others…well then our 3 almost 4 y/o must be Einstein! We explain to Libby that we don’t say that word and she quietly said “ok” and hopefully that is the end of it. I really don’t want to get the phone call from school as she starts 4K next year talking about her choice of words she uses during class😳

We spot elk and of course buffalo along the way, which now I feel we are pros at but alas no grizzlies yet😞. We arrive at the Grand Canyon and honest to God the parking lot for the Grand Canyon is smaller than a McDonald’s! We drove around in circles for about 15 minutes before some started backing out of their spot for us to take. As we approach the Canyon, we can hear the roar of the waterfalls which of course calls for picture taking! It is so crazy how diverse the different regions are in Yellowstone. The Grand Canyon is massive (I’ve never seen the Real Grand Canyon…so I consider this massive). The colors are unreal and the depth of the Canyon is just beyond words. We found a family to take our picture and laughed because his camera was about two times the size of mine and probably twice as expensive. GB explained that this was our first really nice camera and don’t make fun of us. The man and his family just laughed and said “you have to start somewhere right?!” We have now gotten in the habit of taking a smiling picture and a silly crazy picture with the kids along with selfies of each of us with them. Funny how habits just start like that. After the Grand Canyon, we stopped in Canyon Village for lunch and of course more souvenir shopping. I had a huckleberry soda which I guess is popular around these parts. I think there is a reference some where to Teddy Roosevelt but I am too lazy to switch over to google to check it out 😜. I ate a 1/3 lb bison/elk burger which was delicious. A little bit more dense than a burger and not as greasy, yummy all the same! Libby scarfed down her PB and J as if we have never fed her. The couple next to us just eyed her in disbelief. The couple also showed up with refillable cups that apparently if you bring them they will refill for free after you purchase the cup. In eavesdropping to the conversation they were having with the wait staff, apparently that cup is about 15 years old! Way to get your money’s worth out of that cup folks! Our waiter was from Tulsa OK. I told him how I had worked at St. Francis (otherwise known as the pink hospital). He then proceeded to tell me that is where his Grandma died. Wow buddy...way to kill the mood! I apologized and tried to change the subject. GB likes to bring up "Atomic Burrito" which is a Mexican place in Tulsa that GB and I loved to go to while I worked in Tulsa. Sad news for those of you who now want to go there...our waiter informed us that it closed down!!!😳. He said there is a new place there now and he was part owner. He said the food was good but for the life of me I can't remember the name of it. Oh well! Just a little sad that the Atomic Burrito is no longer there...but what a name right?! It really draws you in so if anyone out there is up for running a business, grab that name!!! Talking to the waiter and just enjoying Yellowstone got GB thinking and hence our retirement plan was born. Our new plan is to buy and RV and come out to Yellowstone. I would work on site as an employee and we would be able to camp out on the grounds. GB would work from the RV via satellite as wifi's are nonexistent. I would either work at one of the shops or I am also thinking I can start studying now to become a park ranger!!! That way by the time I retire I will be knowledgeable in all things Yellowstone and forestry stuff. We also saw there are people called Campground Hosts. GB and I dubbed them almost the RA of the campground. I always wanted to be an RA because I had amazing ones (name drop JenRA!). They basically drive around the site in a golf cart making sure no shenanigans are going on, help with traffic, monitor wildlife aka visiting elk and buffalo and just help out as needed. They then park their RV on the campsite and have a little American flag by their camper along with a carved wooden sign that says "Campground Host." If I was feeling adventurous I could make little outdoor tags for new campers to hang on their campsite number just like RAs did for our door decals on holidays and birthdays! I then mentioned to GB that what if the kids wanted to visit us in the summer when they are off from school...to which GB answers..."tough luck!" My he moves on so quickly. My plan is to do a little research once I get home to see what this all entails...I am super excited to bad I have to wait 15 years or so till Libby's in college...but hey it's good to have goals!! Ok...back to the trip! After lunch we head out for the Lamar valley to scope out some animals. We did make a pit stop at the mud volcano which was also super cool. Andrew got a kick out of it...GB was not too fond of the smell. We got some pics and walked around. Kids again stayed close by (awesome) and definitely became familiar with the sign that read "danger, thermal area ahead." We trekked up to the north east corner of Yellowstone and the Lamar Valley seeing lots of Elk and bison. We then got to a crossing point: continue on the Lamar Valley and turn around or head to the Mammoth Hot Springs to do a loop we had not done before. We had heard that you would be able to go swimming and we had our swim gear in the car...so...Mammoth Hot Springs it is! Mammoth Hot Springs is in the north east corner of Yellowstone. We made the drive seeing more animals and finally approached the hot springs. The rock formations are a bright white color due to (don't quote me) but the chemicals from the hot springs eroding on the stone. This one was a hike up. We hadn't done much hiking with Libby but we thought we could tackle this one. Lots of walking and stairs but the older two were pretty excited so off we went. By 1/4 of the way through Libby was done. She complained for pretty much 90% of the hike up and down. I tried to distract her the best I could and there were moments she was great but most of the time she was just tired and hot. A couple tantrums happened and a couple "pretend leave behinds" were performed by me and she would come running up saying she was sorry but still she would just revert back to her "I am tired of walking and my legs don't want to walk anymore." As we made the loop back around and were nearing our car, there happened to be a family that was behind us for the last half of the hike down. I then said to Libby "Was that really bad?" to which she said "No, not bad at all Momma!" The family behind us just laughed! We got back in the car and the kids settled down with snacks and cold drinks as we made the trek back to the campsite. On the way back, we got stopped by construction. We are sitting there just gabbing when we noticed people were getting out of their cars and looking into the valley next to us taking pictures. GB noticed it first "look Bears!" The whole car got excited. Sure enough there was a momma grizzly and her baby just foraging through the grass I would say 50 yards away and walking closer. I grab my camera and start sitting on the window to get a closer look...no way I am getting out of the car...that's a freaking momma bear...I needed the safety of my car. But here goes waking up, what had to be 12 y/o girl with a camera trying to get up close for a shot. She was way braver than me that's for sure! I went camera crazy taking pics as they got closer. We were stopped because it was a one lane road in front of us and they were letting on coming traffic trough so we had plenty of time. I felt scared for the construction worker who had to stand near the edge waving traffic through and at the same time reprimand people who were getting too close for their safety. It was then our turn to go through but I kept snapping photos as we got closer. Super exciting!!! We finally got to see a bear! Now I know I can go to Milwaukee Zoo and see bears anytime but it is just so much different seeing them on their turf...super cool! We made it back to our campsite and all the kids were famished...I mean it had been 1.5 hours since the last time they ate!!! We are literally starving them!!! Well now it was my turn to cook and we were having pizza pudgie pies for dinner! It took 1 practice attempt (one side got completely charred) but after that it went decent. The kids liked the change from hot dogs and spaghettios and I liked that I was able to cook a little instead of GB. It also involved easy clean up which I also was a big fan of. Don't get me wrong, I love when GB fires up with skillet and Le Crueset pans (yes that is what we use for camping cooking) but they are just a pain to wash in general and on top of having a super small sink it makes the task doubly challenging. We roasted some marshmallows but unfortunately the mosquitoes were so bad we had to call it in early so we wouldn't get eaten alive. We had bug spray but GB didn't want the kids getting in his bed if they had spray on them...there's the germaphobe I know and love! Ali and I enjoyed a nice walk at dusk through the open field near our site. We got some beautiful pics of the night sky and a couple selfies of us gorgeous gals with the gorgeous backdrop. It was kind of nice having quiet time with just me and Al. I usually have the littlest attached at my hip so we don't get a whole lot of alone time. This was perfect! We headed back to the RV and got ready for bed. It was our last night in Yellowstone. Everyone talked about what they liked the best...all 3 said the bears! GB and I enjoyed as much as we could outside with the mosquitoes before we just had to come in. Our last night in Yellowstone...2 days went by fast. There was so much more to see but we were limited by the youngest with regard to hiking and climbing. I think we did the best we could do for us and hat I am happy with. We saw so much and did so much that I really can't complain at all. The weather has been absolutely perfect with not a raindrop to be found and only clear skies above us. GB did it right in planning this trip and who knows when we will be back. The sure thing is we WILL be back! Good night Yellowstone!