Chapter 36 - The Training Camp

Kamino Ward. Midnight.

A man sat by himself in a dark room, illuminated only by the soft glow of artificial light from the many computer screens before him. The man was connected to various machines, tubes and containers protruding from his skin, carrying unknown liquids in and out of his body. His face was heavily scarred from the sallow sockets that once held his eyes down to his lips, which were curved upward in a perverse smile. His fingers were knitted together in contemplation.

Although he could no longer "see" in the traditional sense, he used a quirk to help him view the monitors before him without much effort. They displayed the interface of the various networks and systems that were running, ranging from surveillance to monitoring the current physical vitals registered by the machines the man was hooked up to. But the information he was presently concerned with were plastered on the monitor before him: the images of All Might, Batman, and the boy Izuku Midoriya. Although All Might was the main focus, it was the introduction of the other two outliers in his plan that had captured his interest.

The door behind him opened, bathing the man in the light of the hallway. "Close the door, Doctor," said the man without turning. "And come join me."

"Of course, Master," said the Doctor, closing the door and joining the man beside him. "Studying your enemies, again?"

"Naturally," Said the Master.

"You've taken quite an interest in this quirkless boy," Said the Doctor in a matter-of-fact fashion.

"I'm more than interested," said the Master. "This boy can stand shoulder-to-shoulder with even his strongest of classmates."

"His mentor has provided him with a number of tools and weapons to assist him," said the Doctor.

"It isn't his tools that make him powerful," replied the Master. "It is his mind. He is able to out-think his opponents. In doing so, he wins the battle before it even begins. He reminds me of . . . " The master trailed off, going silent.

"Do you believe them to be a threat?" Said the Doctor. "The boy and the Batman?"

"Perhaps," said the Master. "But it is a risk I am prepared to take."

"What do you mean?"

"Every bit of information I have gathered on this boy has been more and more interesting," said the Master. "Quirkless since birth, but a vast intelligence and superior training by arguably one of the most dangerous men in the world. What's more, my sources say that he once idolized my old nemesis, but now seems to hate him. This is an opportunity that I cannot ignore." He turned to the Doctor. "This boy may be the perfect key for All Might's undoing, and he will be mine."

"By going after his protegee, we may bring Batman's wrath down upon us," said the Doctor.

The Master thought for a moment. "Kurogiri," said the Master. He spoke into the television that let him observe Shigaraki in the dive bar.

"I am here, Master," Said Kurogiri.

"Have Giran contact the Mercenary," the Master said. "He may be exactly what we need in this situation."

"Now that you have finished up your first semester at UA High, your summer vacation officially begins."

Aizawa stood before classes 1-A and 1-B outside the gates of UA. The bus to take them to their summer training camp was waiting to take them to their destination. "However," he continued. "Don't think that these will be months of rest for you heroes-in-the-making. At this camp, we'll push you to go beyond your limits. You're aiming to become Plus-Ultra."

Both classes began piling into their respective assigned busses, all jabbering excitedly about the camp that awaits them. Izuku was silent, going over the notes in his notebook while the class around him goofed off. An hour later, Class 1-A's bus stopped at a scenic rest area, overlooking a vast forest area. Aizawa ordered them to pile out of the bus.

"Huh," said Kirishima. "This isn't much of a rest area. And where's Class B?"

"You don't think we stopped here just so you could stretch your legs, do you?" Said Aizawa. Before the students could answer, a black sedan drove up and stopped at the rest area, and two women, a blonde and a brunette, emerged from the cab. They were dressed from head to toe in elaborate cat-themed costumes, including tails attached to their skirts, cat-ears and huge paw-shaped gloves over their hands. Izuku recognized them immediately as two of the members of the Wild Wild Pussycats, a four-person pro hero team that specialized in mountain rescue. Izuku didn't recognize the small boy that followed them out of the car. He wore a red hat with large protruding spikes that did little to hide the scowl that lined his face.

"These are the pros you'll be working with during your training," Said Aizawa, bowing to the Pussycats. "Long time, no see."

"Hey, Eraser!" Said the Blonde Pussycat, Pixie-Bob. "So these are the students we'll be tormenting this year, eh?"

Izuku didn't like the sound of that "tormenting" comment.

"Say hello, everyone," Said Aizawa.

"Nice to meet you," the class said in unison.

"Hello kids!" Said Mandalay, the brunette pussycat. "We own this whole stretch of land out here. The camp that you'll be staying at is at the base of that mountain." She pointed towards the far end of the forest."

"That's pretty far," Said Uraraka. "Why did we stop out here instead of . . . out . . . there." Uraraka's eyes widened with realization.

"I think we all know the answer to that," said Asui.

"That can't be right," Said Sato.

"Maybe we should get back on the bus," Said Sero nervously.

"The current time is 9:30 AM," Said Mandalay, smiling viciously. "If you're fast about it, you might make it there by noon.Kitties who don't make it there by 12:30 won't get any lunch. You can use your quirks as much as you want to."

"Save yourselves!" Shouted Kirishima. All the students tried to run back to the bus, but Pixie-Bob was waiting for them. She crouched and extended her hands to the ground. A faint blue glow began to shine around them, and the ground beneath her began to shift. Izuku realized she was using her quirk: the ability to manipulate Earth's soil, similar to Cementoss with concrete.

"As you have already guessed, class," Said Aizawa. "The training camp has already begun."

Class 1-A screamed as the ground beneath them swallowed them up like a tidal wave, throwing them over the rest stop overpass and down into the forest below. As the dirt settled back into the ground beneath them, they all began to pick themselves up.

"Why do we keep falling for Aizawa's tricks?" Complained Jiro.

"Well, I guess there's nothing for it," Said Kirishima, dusting himself off. "Might as well get going."

Mineta was the first one into the forest, trying to find a secluded spot to relieve himself. He stopped dead in his tracks, however, screaming as he stared into the toothy, gaping maw of a gigantic creature the likes of which Izuku had never seen.

"We're all gonna die!" Shouted Kaminari and Sero in unison.

"Mineta! Get out of the way!" Shouted Izuku. Mineta was frozen in fear of the beast before him. Izuku used his grapple gun to latch onto Mineta and drag him away as the monster slammed its large clawed foot onto the spot he was standing. Koda attempted to speak to the creature, as his quirk allowed him to speak to animals, but the creature largely ignored him.

Could this monster be immune? Izuku thought to himself. But as Izuku looked closer, he noticed something off about the creature: it's hide had a rough, grainy texture to it, as if it was made of dirt. That's when it dawned on Izuku that this monster was just a giant dirt clod. Pixie-Bob must still be using her quirk against them. Izuku launched an explosive batarang into the creature's mouth, causing it's head to explode into a cloud of dirt and debris.

"They're just dirt mounds!" Shouted Izuku. "Take them down!"

"Don't you think you've got these kids on a crazy schedule, Eraser?" Said Mandalay back at the rest stop.

"Yeah," said Aizawa. "We're hoping to fit in an entire second semester's worth of knowledge in them here. That's going to take an intense amount of work, but the rewards will be worth it. They'll be able to get permits to use their quirks, and they'll get provisional licenses so they can act as heroes in an emergency. Plus, with all the villainous activity we've been tracking, they need to be able to defend themselves."

"What about your quirkless student, Midoriya?" Said Mandalay. "Don't you think he'll have a hard time keeping up?"

"I don't think you have to worry about that, Mandalay," Said Pixie-Bob, adjusting her visor. She was using it to monitor the student's activity from her vantage point while using her quirk to create the monsters they were facing. "He's taken down three of my beasts by himself already."

"Seriously?" Said Mandalay, surprised.

"That's a common reaction when it comes to Midoriya," Said Aizawa. "He leads by example, surpassing all expectations. And his classmates tend to fall in line behind him. So I have no doubt that they'll surpass expectations as well."

The young boy continued to watch disdainfully as the heroes-in-training fought through Pixie-Bob's onslaught. Idiots, he thought angrily. How pointless. Wanting to be a hero.

Dusk fell on the grounds of the training camp. Aizawa, Pixie-Bob and Mandalay all waited for Class 1-A outside the community center. "The litter is almost here!" Said Pixie-Bob cheerfully.

"That took a lot longer than expected," Said Mandalay.

One by one, the students of Class 1-A slowly emerged from the edge of the forest, looking as if they were marching out of the gates of hell. They were covered in dirt, cuts, mud and all sorts of abrasions. Iida was limping, a small smoke stream billowing from his injured calf. Todoroki was covered in frost on his left side. Uraraka was having trouble walking a straight line, looking sick and covering her mouth to prevent vomiting. Sero, Kirishima, Sato and Shoji all came lumbering out of the forest, their clothes torn from the use of their quirks. Aoyama couldn't stand up straight, doubled over as he clutched his stomach. Izuku had exhausted most of his supply of explosives. His hands ached from the use of his explosive gauntlets. Finally the last of the students came lumbering out of the woods, coming to a stop outside the community center with their instructors.

"You said we'd get here by noon!" Said Sero.

"I guess we timed it based on how long it would take us to do it, sorry," said Mandalay.

"Now you're just rubbing it in," Said Sato glumly.

"I'm starving!" Said Kirishima. "This is hell!"

"I thought it would take you kids even longer to get here," said Pixie-Bob. "You did much better against my dirt monsters than I thought you would! Especially this young boy," she added, pointing to Izuku. "I call dibs on that one." She licked her lips, sending a slight chill down Izuku's spine.

Aizawa rolled his eyes. "Has she always been like this?" He said to Mandalay.

"It's been a bit worse lately," she said. "She hasn't had a date in years."

Izuku looked away from Pixie-Bob and noticed the young boy he saw from earlier standing next to Mandalay. He stood there quietly, but Izuku could almost feel the intense anger emanating from his glaring eyes. "Excuse me, but who is this?" Izuku asked Mandalay.

"Oh, this is Kota," Mandalay replied. "He's my cousin's son, he lives with us now. Don't be shy, Kota, say hi to everyone."

Kota continued his glaring silence. Izuku figured perhaps he should make the first friendly gesture, approaching the boy. "Hello, Kota," He said, extending his hand. "My name is Midoriya, from UA High." Kota said nothing, but instead, with a speed faster than Izuku had seen any child move, threw a solid straight punch into his groin. Izuku doubled over in the pain, seeing spots in his vision and nearly throwing up.

"What a low blow!" Said Iida, shocked, running to Izuku's aid. "You fiend of a child! A punch to the scrotum is unforgivable!"

The boy turned and walked away. "The last thing I want is to hang with some wanna-be heroes."

Izuku couldn't help but smile through the pain. It was like looking at Kacchan as a kid.

The class all gathered into the community center for dinner, prepared by the Wild Wild Pussycats themselves. Izuku was still slightly reeling from his punch to the groin, but that didn't stop him from gorging himself. He was so hungry that he would have said their food tasted almost as good as Alfred's. Almost.

"This is the only night we're doing this for you," said Pixie-Bob. "So make sure you enjoy it."

After dinner, they all went to bathe before turning in for the night. The bath houses were ornately designed around natural mountain hot springs, decorated with large bonsai trees, boulders, and an expensive mahogany boardwalk leading to the baths. The warm water felt like heaven to Izuku's aching body.

"Midoriya, don't you go anywhere without that utility belt?" Said Kirishima, gesturing to the belt on the platform next to Izuku, who merely shrugged.

Mineta stood on the platform by the large wooden fence that separated the male and female baths. This obstacle did not serve as a deterrent for Mineta, using his quirk in an attempt to scale the fence to get a peek on the other side. "Get down from there, now!" Shouted Iida. "What you are doing is shameful for the girls and yourself!" Mineta ignored the class representative's scolding and continued to climb, nearly to the top before coming face to face with -

"Before you become a hero," said Kota, standing over Mineta on the top of the wall. "You should learn how to be a good human." He then pushed Mineta off the wall and back down into the bath below, where he landed directly atop Iida.

"Thanks so much, Kota, babe!"

Kota turned behind him to see who was addressing him, only to catch a full view of the girls of Class 1-A below in the baths, thanking him for stopping Mineta. Startled, he slipped on the ladder he was standing on and fell backwards down towards the male baths. Izuku instinctively snatched the grapple gun from his belt and launched himself towards Kota, grabbing him before he hit the boardwalk below. Once out of the bath, Izuku realized the boy was unconscious, and quickly rushed him to the management office where the Pussycats were.

"The rush from the fall likely caused him to faint," Said Mandalay after inspecting the unconscious Kota. "Thank you. Eraser warned me one of you boys was a little girl crazy, so I stationed Kota up there to keep watch." She placed a warm rag on Kota's head.

"Well, I'm just glad he's all right," said Izuku, shifting awkwardly. He only had a moment to drape himself in a towel before taking him to Mandalay, and he felt slightly embarrassed at his appearance, especially considering he was in the presence of a Pro Hero.

"Honestly, you keep surprising me," Said Mandalay. "When Eraser said you were quirkless, I thought he was pulling my leg. But you honestly live up to the reputation painted in the news when you took down the Hero Killer."

Izuku shifted awkwardly again. "I was lucky," he said. He turned his attention back to Kota, his words passing through Izuku's mind: the last thing I want is to hang with some wanna-be heroes. "He doesn't like heroes very much, does he? Growing up, I always wanted to be a hero. Most people I knew growing up did as well. Hard to see a kid his age so against heroes."

"How observant," said Mandalay, sighing. "Of course, he isn't alone. There are many in our society who don't approve of us."

Izuku's mind immediately flashed to Stain.

"Maybe if he had a normal childhood, he would have admired heroes like you did growing up," Mandalay continued.

"What happened?" Izuku asked.

"Mandalay's cousins," Said Pixie-bob, entering the room. "Kota's parents. They were heroes, too. They were murdered."

Mandalay nodded sadly. "Two years ago," she said. "A villain killed them. They died protecting citizens, probably the most noble way to go. But Kota was so small. How do you even begin to explain to a child that his parents died honorable deaths. They were his entire world. Everything."

This story struck a familiar chord with Izuku, thinking back to when Bruce had taken him to the Warehouse for the first time. It happened quickly. First, he took my mother's pearls. Then he went for my father. Two shots. That's all it took. Two shots and my parents were taken from me. Izuku felt the same pang of sympathy he felt for Bruce all that time ago, the fear, sadness and confusion of a child whose world was taken from them by the selfishness of another.

"To Kota," continued Mandalay. "His parents left him behind. And all the while they were being praised because their sacrifice was such a noble one. He doesn't seem to like us that much either, because we're heroes like they were. I'm sure he feels stuck here because he has nowhere else to go." She leaned back in her chair. "Heroes just don't make sense to Kota. In his mind, if his parents had been heroes, they would still be here."

"I'm sorry for your loss," said Izuku. "And his."

Izuku excused himself and went back to the dorm rooms. Most of the other students had already gone to sleep, having been exhausted from the day's battle. Despite how tired he felt, Izuku found it difficult to fall asleep. He wished Bruce was there. He had a strong desire to help Kota, but didn't know how. He wasn't as strong as Bruce, or as smart as him. Once again, for all his accomplishments, he still couldn't help the feeling of inadequacy creep into his heart.

Aizawa woke the students at the crack of dawn, ordering them into their UA gym uniforms and to line up outside the community building. "Good morning, class," He said. "Today we begin a training class that will increase your strength. Our goal is to increase your skills exponentially so that each of you earns a provisional license. This will allow you to face the dangers that continue to fester in the darkness.

"You've had a single semester at UA," Aizawa continued. "And due to your various experiences you all have definitely improved. But those improvements have mostly been limited to mental prowess and technical skill, with a slight increase in stamina thrown in along the way. But on a fundamental level, you haven't grown much stronger. That's why we're going to focus on increasing upon your strengths and powers." Aizawa's twisted smile returned, sending chills among the class. "This will be so hard you'll feel like you're dying. Let's hope you all survive."

Tomura Shigaraki sat at his usual spot in the hideout at Kamino Ward. He was carefully constructing a house of playing cards while he and Kurogiri waited for word from Giran, the broker.

"The master is good," he said, placing another card in the tower. "I tried so hard to find out where those brats were going, and he figured it out in an instant."

"It was worth having a team on standby then, wasn't it, Tomura Shigaraki?"

"I guess. I only hope that idiot broker is able to procure the mercenary the Master requested," said Shigaraki.

"Speak of the devil," said a voice from the doorway. "And he shall appear." Giran approached the bar, trademark cigarette in hand and smug smile on his face. "I heard back from the union today," He continued. "You can expect shipment tomorrow. It was thrown together quickly, so it might not look like much but quality is guaranteed."

"And what about the Master's special request?" Said Shigaraki.

"The mercenary?" Said Giran. "He'll be here tomorrow as well."

"I must apologize for making such unreasonable requests, but it was necessary," Said Kurogiri.

"Don't be," Said Giran. "I have to say, this mercenary doesn't come cheap, but once I told him we were going after one of Batman's brats, he couldn't sign up fast enough. Besides," he added, turning to Shigaraki. "The Union approved of these outlandish requests because they have such high expectations of you, Shigaraki. If the League of Villains steps into the light, then the scum hiding on the sidelines will follow suit. And if that happens, it means brokers like me win big."

Shigaraki turned back to his house of cards, pushing it over with his finger. "The board is set with my pawns and their prey," He said, smiling perversely beneath the hand-mask on his face. "Finally, it's time for the game to begin."