Chapter 48: The Forest Challenge
Summer break had come.
The school trip to the forest training lodge had officially begun, and Class 1-A stood gathered at the campus gate—bags in hand, spirits high, ready to board their assigned buses.
Excitement buzzed through the group. But the moment they approached the curb, another class was already waiting.
Class 1-B.
And leading the charge—with a grin that practically screamed "punch me"—was Neito Monoma.
He stepped forward with theatrical flair, waving at them like old friends.
"Huh?! Isn't that weird? Isn't that strange!?" he called out, laughing loudly. "I thought Class A was supposed to be superior to Class B, right? Huuuh? Huuuuh!?"
A few Class 1-B students looked awkward, already inching away.
"What? Class A needs supplementary lessons? That means someone got a failing mark!?"
Kirishima glanced over but didn't slow his step. "Let him talk."
Jirou exhaled a tired sigh. "It's too early for this."
Harue didn't even turn his head. He just kept walking straight to the bus, headphones in, completely unfazed—like Monoma wasn't even there.
Monoma's grin only grew wider as he continued, loud and gleeful.
Behind him, Kendo grimaced.
"Sorry," Kendo muttered—and then, SMACK!
A single karate chop dropped Monoma to the ground like a sack of bricks. She bowed quickly in apology as she started dragging him away by the collar.
"He has some serious issues man," Kirishima muttered.
Just then, Vlad King stepped up.
"Class A's bus is here! Please queue in seating order!"
Both classes shifted, moving toward their respective buses, the chatter rising as students filed in.
And just like that, the trip had begun.
⸻
The ride started like any other school trip—chatter, snacks, and random shouting from the back seats.
Pillows were being fluffed, windows cracked open, and Midoriya was already scribbling notes about training regimens in a notebook that was dangerously close to bursting. Kirishima and Sero were comparing workout playlists, while Ojiro calmly sipped juice near the front. Even Bakugo hadn't started yelling yet—which was probably a red flag, to be honest.
Meanwhile, Harue had taken a window seat about midway down the bus, one leg up, his phone in hand. Mina sat beside him, lounging sideways with her legs casually draped over his lap like it was the most natural thing in the world.
They didn't say much at first.
Mina was busy scrolling through reels on her phone—probably memes, Harue guessed. Her expression kept shifting from thoughtful to giggly to mildly horrified.
Harue, meanwhile, was browsing some old pro hero footage—eyes half-focused, one hand resting absently on her knee.
The world buzzed around them. But in their little corner of the bus, it felt… quieter.
Then Mina leaned in slightly, her head resting against his shoulder as a soft smile crept onto her lips.
"I'm really glad Aizawa let us come," she whispered, not looking up. "I thought I blew it for sure…"
Harue glanced down at her, his own smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.
"You earned it," he said simply.
She tilted her face up, eyes warm. "Still… I would've hated being left behind. Especially without you."
He kissed her forehead gently.
"I wasn't gonna let that happen," he said.
Across the aisle, Tooru blinked from her seat and immediately flushed—well, internally. Being invisible made blushing kind of a tragic waste.
Still, she covered her face with her hands in exaggerated shyness… then peeked through a tiny gap in her fingers to keep watching.
No one noticed, of course. She was invisible. Cute moments like this were tragically wasted on her.
But she made a mental note anyway: Mina and Harue = new favorite couple to spy on.
The bus continued its slow roll toward the forested mountains in the distance, laughter echoing louder now as excitement built with every passing mile.
And none of them—no matter how strong, smart, or stubborn—could know just what was waiting in those woods.
———-
An hour later.
The bus came to a slow halt on a wide stretch of dirt road, surrounded by towering trees and mist-covered hills.
The doors hissed open.
A collective sigh of relief rippled through Class 1-A.
"Finally!" Kaminari groaned, stretching his arms overhead. "I thought my spine was gonna fuse to this seat."
"Rest stop time, baby!" Sero grinned as he stood up, cracking his neck.
"Bathroom… bathroom…!" Mineta muttered in a panic, knees bouncing as he shuffled down the aisle with one hand planted firmly between his legs. "Where's the sign!? Where's the sign!?"
But as the students filed out onto the gravel, looking around the quiet forest clearing, something strange settled in.
There was no vending machine.
No gas station.
No bathrooms.
Just trees. Lots of trees.
And no sign of Class 1-B.
"…Wait a second," Yaoyorozu frowned, glancing around. "Where's the other bus?"
"They were ahead of us when we left," Tokoyami murmured.
"Did they take a different road?" Asui tilted her head.
Midoriya looked toward Aizawa, who had stepped off the bus last, his arms crossed and eyes narrowed under his yellow goggles.
The class turned toward him expectantly.
A beat passed.
Then they heard him mutter under his breath, almost too low to catch:
"To say that there were no ulterior motives would be a lie…"
"…Huh?" Uraraka blinked. "What was that?"
Before anyone could press him further, a new voice rang out from the treeline:
"Heeeey, Eraser!"
Everyone turned.
Three figures emerged from the shadows of the woods—two women and a child.
The first was a reddish-brown-haired woman with sharp yellow eyes, waving enthusiastically. The second, blonde and beaming, had an unmistakable wild energy in her step. Behind them trailed a small boy in a hoodie and cap, hands in his pockets, gaze low and unimpressed.
"Yo," Aizawa said simply, not surprised in the slightest. "It's been a while."
The two women stopped in front of the class, both dressed head to toe in bright-colored, feline-themed hero costumes—complete with tails, gloves shaped like paws, and ear-topped headbands.
"I am Mandalay!" announced the redhead dramatically, striking a pose.
"And I'm Pixie-Bob!" the blonde added, spinning once before throwing up two peace signs.
Together they declared:
"We are the Wild Wild Pussycats!"
Silence.
"…Seriously?" Bakugo muttered under his breath.
Midoriya, however, was already glowing.
"Oh my gosh, they're the real deal!" he whispered, furiously scribbling in his notebook again. "The Wild Wild Pussycats! They specialize in mountain rescues and survival tactics—they're veterans! Pro heroes who work in teams to provide support in harsh terrain!"
"…He's gonna pass out again," Jirou muttered.
As the class processed the weird yet enthusiastic arrival, Mandalay stepped forward and pointed toward the edge of the road where metal railings lined a steep drop-off.
"Listen up, everyone. This area is part of our domain—but the lodge you'll be staying at is waaaaay down there."
She gestured into the dense, sprawling forest below. Through the gaps in the trees, they could just barely make out a wooden lodge far in the distance.
The students crowded the railing to get a better look.
"Wait, what?" Iida blinked. "That's where we're going? Then why did we stop here?"
"We could've just driven down, right?" Uraraka asked, just as confused.
Mandalay only smiled.
"It's currently 9:30 AM," she said. "If you kittens hustle, you can make it there by 12."
Her expression turned sly.
"Also anyone who doesn't arrive before 12:30 doesn't get lunch."
A chill ran through the class.
"What!?"
"That's not fair!"
"We didn't sign up for this!"
"I still haven't peed!!" Mineta wailed.
Then, before they could retreat to the bus in a desperate attempt to protest—
Pixie-Bob crouched.
"Ready or not, here you gooo~!"
She slammed her gloved paw to the ground.
BOOM!
The earth exploded forward like a tidal wave—dirt and rock rising in a massive wall before crashing toward the students like a living mudslide.
"WAAAHHH!" Kaminari shouted, tumbling back.
"WE'RE GONNA DIE!" Mineta cried.
"MOVE!" Bakugo roared, already blasting backward, but even he was caught by the wave.
The students screamed as the ground dropped beneath them and they were launched over the ledge, plummeting down the side of the mountain.
Kota, the quiet boy behind the Pussycats, stared wide-eyed from above, his cap nearly flying off from the force of the wind.
Pixie-Bob stood up, dusting her hands with a proud grin. "That should get them moving!"
But then—a rush of heat exploded from below.
A blazing wind whooshed upward, scattering leaves and snapping branches.
A massive phoenix, wings of molten fire and tail feathers trailing smoke, soared up from the forest floor. The brilliant creature circled once before gliding downward… revealing Class 1-A riding safely on its back.
The students were wide-eyed, clinging to each other or the flaming wings with disbelief as the fiery bird gently landed at the bottom of the mountain clearing, setting everyone down with barely a bump.
Even Pixie-Bob and Mandalay froze, blinking in awe.
"Wha—?"
"That's…!"
Kota's jaw hung open, the tip of his hat tilting in the updraft.
Up above, Aizawa stared for a long moment, then sighed deeply.
"…This damn brat," he muttered—but a small, rare smile curved at the edge of his mouth.
The fiery phoenix dispersed with a soft whoosh, flames scattering into golden embers, revealing Harue standing tall, orange hair whipping in the breeze as he looked up at them—smirking like he'd just broken the tutorial level.
His classmates stared in stunned silence.
"…Show-off," Bakugo hissed, brushing ash off his shoulder.
"Totally worth it," Mina grinned from behind him.
And just like that, training camp had officially begun.
End of the chapter.