"Hey, yo, what! What!"
At that moment, Class B's Monoma Neito suddenly appeared out of nowhere, looking like he wanted to be punched as he tried to draw attention to himself.
"Did I hear that right? Someone in Class A actually needs tutoring? That means someone failed the final exam!"
"How strange. So strange! Isn't Class A supposed to be way better than Class B? Ah, this is really strange!"
But as soon as he said that, the previously cheerful atmosphere—charged with excitement over the sleepover—was instantly doused like ice-cold water.
"Uh… is he making fun of Kaminari and Todoroki?" Kirishima asked in surprise.
"Hah." Tetsutetsu sneered at Monoma, watching him like an overconfident clown juggling to no applause.
At the same time, Monoma—who had originally planned to keep mocking them—froze in place as Kaminari and Todoroki turned their eyes toward him.
He'd just realized: the two students Mineta had mentioned needing tutoring were exactly the ones now giving him that chilling stare.
In that moment, memories of Kaminari and Todoroki's performances during the U.A. Sports Festival flashed through his mind. He had just provoked the two strongest students in the entire Hero Course's first year!
"No way… of all people, it couldn't be them—Ow!!" Just as panic set in, a sharp pain struck the back of his head, and he dropped to his knees in shock.
"I'm so sorry!" Class B's rep, Kendo Itsuka, had one hand gripping the back of Monoma's neck, and was bowing in apology to Class A before boarding their class bus.
"I didn't expect Class B to be here too," Midoriya said with a smile.
"So this training camp is actually a joint session between both classes?" Momo said, touching her chin in thought.
As the two classes exchanged greetings, Aizawa glanced at the time on his phone, then interrupted without hesitation.
"Alright, time to leave. Get on the bus."
Soon, the bus carrying the twenty-one students and teachers of Class A pulled out of U.A.'s gate and sped onto the highway toward the suburbs.
"Listen carefully, the bus will stop once an hour, and then we'll—"
Before Aizawa could finish explaining about bathroom breaks, he noticed that no one in the back rows was listening.
Some were chatting, some drinking juice, others had headphones in, and a few were gaming on their phones. Only Class Rep Iida was loudly trying to get everyone to quiet down.
"...Forget it. This is probably the only time they'll have the energy to mess around like this." Aizawa gave up, turned around, and closed his eyes for a nap.
Kaminari, seated next to Kyoka Jiro, stared blankly at his phone's dark screen. He had made his decision, but that didn't mean he felt nothing.
"What are you thinking about?"
A tap on his arm snapped him out of it. Turning his head, he found Kyoka holding out one of her earphones, looking at him curiously.
"Ah, it's nothing. I was just thinking… this trip might not be as simple as it seems. We are in the Hero Course, after all."
"True, but let's not overthink it right now. Want to listen to some music with me?" Kyoka said with a smile.
"Sure." Kaminari took the earphone and put it in his right ear. The song playing was familiar, though he hadn't listened to it often.
[ISAYYES→"I want to be by your side forever"]
[No matter what trials the future brings, we'll overcome them together]
[Our meeting was fate, that's why we're here]
[Because I heard your voice…]
"This is…"
Seeing his surprised expression, Kyoka chuckled softly. "As promised, this song is just for the two of us."
"Yeah." Kaminari nodded seriously.
Accompanied by the distinct voices of teenage boys and girls, the bus carried their anticipation, excitement, worries, and determination as it rolled toward the unknown.
[Even if danger comes for us]
[As long as I'm with you, I can face it]
Maybe it was Aizawa's way of retaliating for the students ignoring him earlier, but the driver never stopped for breaks. They kept driving for over three hours straight.
Most people didn't notice—except for Mineta, who had downed the most juice and was clearly struggling.
Unfortunately, they had already passed the rest area, and stopping on the highway wasn't allowed. So all Mineta could do was follow Aizawa's advice and endure.
Thankfully, after an unknown amount of time, the bus finally stopped, to Mineta's immense relief. They had arrived at the edge of a forest, with fresh air and lush greenery all around.
"Finally here," Tetsutetsu sighed in relief, stretching his limbs.
"But there's nothing here," Kaminari said, glancing around and noticing that Class B's bus was missing.
"Hey, whose car is that?" Kyoka pointed to a nearby black vehicle, and a few students walked toward it.
"Looks like someone else is already here," Kaminari thought to himself.
"Yo, Eraser Head!"
The front door of the black car opened, and two figures—one in red, one in blue—leapt out at high speed and stood in the center of the clearing in an instant.
"Long time no see." The students were surprised to see their perpetually tired homeroom teacher bowing respectfully to the two new arrivals.
"The twinkling eyes lock you in!"
"Cute cat missile!"
"Wild, Wild Pussycats!!"
Everyone stared in stunned silence as the two female Pro Heroes, dressed in short Catwoman-style skirts, struck a series of exaggerated and embarrassing poses.
"Team Rocket? Team Ginyu?" Even Kaminari, who prided himself on being slightly chuuni, felt secondhand embarrassment.
Even he had his limits. Dressing up and spouting lines like this in public? He couldn't take it.
"They're the Pro Heroes known as the 'Pussycats.' They'll be in charge of your training." Aizawa gave a brief explanation.
As expected, Midoriya—ever the Hero enthusiast—lit up with excitement and quickly rattled off: "They operate a joint agency, a four-person Pro Hero team!"
"They specialize in mountain and forest rescue operations. They've been active for over twelve years now—"
WHAM!
Before he could finish, a blur of blue shot in front of him, and a thick glove in the shape of a cat's paw smacked him in the face.
"Careful! I'm only eighteen!!"
"So fast!" Kaminari thought in awe. These veteran Pro Heroes really had excellent combat skills.
After exchanging greetings, the red-suited Hero pointed toward the forest and gave a formal announcement.
"This entire area is under our jurisdiction. Your lodging is at the base of the mountain over there."
"That far?!" Class A shouted in unison.
"If that's the case, then why did we stop here? Don't tell me—" Uraraka's question triggered a bad feeling in everyone.
"Listen up! Any kittens who don't arrive by 12:30 won't get lunch!" the red-suited Pro Hero, Mandalay Cat, said jokingly.
But no one was listening anymore—Kirishima, Ojiro, and others were already sprinting for the truck.
"Sorry, everyone. The training camp… has begun." Aizawa muttered with his hands on his hips.
In the next moment, the blue-suited "Pixie Bob" moved to the front of the bus and crouched down. She pressed her gloved hand to the earth…
BOOM!
The ground beneath the students exploded upward like a volcanic eruption, sweeping everyone into the air.
Crack!!
But in that instant, a golden light surged from the chaos. A figure cloaked in dazzling electricity burst out, holding two girls in his arms.
Bang.
Kaminari—having entered high-speed movement mode—landed safely at the forest's edge, gently setting down Kyoka and Momo.
"Honestly, I don't mind sudden starts like this, but they could at least warn us. My mom worked hard to wash this school uniform."
Kaminari stood among the girls, ignoring the rest of the students who were now covered in dirt and completely disheveled. He looked up at the three Pro Heroes above and said calmly.
"This kid?!"
Mandalay stared at Kaminari Denki in surprise.
(To be continued.)