Chapter 185: Springtime Snowy Mountain Camping (3)
~Third POV~
[Snowy Mountain – Tents, Japan]
After being toted back to the tents, Bakugo was freed so that he could change into fresh, dry clothes and crawl into his sleeping bag. Ida and Todoroki had already returned from their mission; Ren donated spare clothes and single-use hand-warmer packs to keep Bakugo toasty. he created using [Create] as he said calmly, "Here you go, Bakugo; these will help you greatly be warm."
Struggling, Bakugo's eyes became bloodshot, and he yelled out loud, "HELL NO!!!"
The boys sprang into action as Kaminari said in a stern tone, pinning him down, "Bakugo, quit fighting back and just get some rest!"
Struggling to escape, Kirishima held him down as he shouted, "If you gotta tinkle, gimme a shout!"
Meanwhile, outside the tent, Sero asked his friends curiously for dinner, "Think you'll be up for some grilled fish later?"
While they talked, Ida bowed his head as he apologized in a concerned tone, "Bakugo, I must apologize for forcing you into a leadership position when you were ill!"
*Crackle*
Todoroki, using his Quirk, created ice as he offered to Bakugo stoically, asking, "My ice could cool down your forehead if you want."
Seeing the boys standing over him with pity in their eyes was too much for Bakugo as he yelled in a loud outburst, "You doting dopes are pissing me off and making the fever worse, so get the hell outta my face!"
The boys got the message loud and clear and moved away from Bakugo's tent, but Midoriya's genuine concern wouldn't let him leave without saying something as he said calmly, "Kacchan, really… Speak up if you need anything."
Bakugo, who even shut his eyes to save him from the sight of Midoriya's face, said neutrally, "Not another damn word outta you. And you thief fucks off…"
The boys' footsteps receded, but still, Bakugo's irritation twisted within him like a jagged knife. The others were close enough for him to overhear their conversation outside the tent as Kaminari said in an impressed tone, "Good looking out, Midoriya. I never would've realized he was sick."
Midoriya nodded as Ren said with his arms crossed in a curious tone, "It was weird, but with him being sick suddenly, it made a lot of sense. When Ida asked him to take command, I noticed his usual reaction was a little delayed."
Midoriya agreed with Ren's words in a calm tone, gazing at the tent, "Yeah. It was weird that tipped me off that something else might be wrong."
Bakugo's eyes popped open upon hearing this, and his anger flared. He'd known he wasn't in peak condition earlier, but he had never planned on mentioning it.
It's a simple biological instinct to be wary of revealing weakness to others. In the wild, doing so lowers one's odds of survival, whereas flaunting one's strengths is a good way to remain at the top of the food chain and survive.
So says the law of the jungle. Consequently, any third party who perceives one's weakness represents a threat worthy of elimination. Years ago, when Midoriya had extended that helping hand, Bakugo had instinctively felt that his own weakness was laid bare—that it was suddenly a known fact.
He'd disguised that deep-seated fear with unbridled rage, but it had seeped into him and accumulated like pockets of dust within his very being. In truth, both then and now, Midoriya's offers were always made out of genuine concern and had nothing to do with strength or weakness.
This was incomprehensible to Bakugo, but at least in recent times, he'd made peace (to some degree) by accepting that he would never fully understand Midoriya. Why the unceasing irritation, then?
His inability to explain his own anger only angered him further. He felt his fever worsening as he pondered, so with a final cluck of his tongue, he willed himself to sleep.
It was sunset by the time the boys had finished prepping the campfire and started grilling the fish, checking in on the sleeping Bakugo now and then. While they sat around the fire and waited for the fish to cook, the last traces of daylight vanished.
Kaminari shouted, after sinking his teeth into his first bite in an excited tone, "Tasty! Fish hits differently when you catch and grill it yourself!"
The others followed Kaminari's lead and began to chow down. The crispy skin, fresh off the fire, smelled savory beyond belief, and the soft flesh went down like butter. Perhaps Kaminari was right; it did seem to taste better when you'd worked for it, as they commented on the food they ate.
"I could down two or three of these little guys."
"Feel free—we got plenty."
"This is filling me up! Circle of life, and all."
"Yummm."
"Nothing tastes as great as eating your cooking."
As each boy finished his first fish, Ren immediately reached for a second as Kaminari looked at Todoroki, saying cooly, "Man, your Quirk is a godsend out in the wilderness, Todoroki."
Todoroki curiously said, "Oh?"
Midoriya, agreeing with Kaminari's words, said in an impressed tone, whipping his head around to face Todoroki, "Of course! Fire is indispensable for keeping us warm and cooking our meals, and it can even light up the dark, serve as a beacon, and ward off animals. Plus, your ice could provide drinking water or be helpful for first aid purposes. Ice and fire really do make for a powerful Quirk. Oh, you could even heat up water for a bath! You're basically a one-man wilderness machine!"
Todoroki, letting the thought hang in the air for a moment, said calmly, "Oh. But I would still want to go camping with you guys. Not alone."
Ren chuckled at Todoroki's response, biting down on his second fish, childishly saying, "Aw. Thanks man but no homo."
Todoroki looked confused as the boys laughed at the joke. Sero teased at Todoroki's comment with a smug grin, "Yeesh! What a schmaltzy thing to say! Pre-upgrade Roki would barely recognize ya."
Midoriya, nodding, took his second fish and said happily with a smile on his face, "Of course! It's much more fun doing it together!"
Ida grinned as he said cheerfully, taking his second fish in one hand and pointing upward on the other, "An astute point! "Camping is a way to deepen the bonds of friendship!"
Kaminari paused in the middle of a hearty bite of fish to gasp as he said, "Oh, I know! We're forgetting those old, uh, camping traditions!"
Kirishima blinked, looking confused, as he asked bluntly, "What kinda traditions are those?"
Kaminari stood up as he waved his arms up and down as he explained excitedly, "I mean, here in the great outdoors, we oughta join shoulder to shoulder and sing! Or talk about our dreams and stuff!"
Ren raised an eyebrow as he sarcastically said with a skeptical grin, "Old sounds about right. Old-fashioned, more like."
Sero said with a skeptical grin, nodded in agreement, and extended a hand at Ren. "Dude, just listening to that was cringy."
*Slap*
Ren slapped Sero's hand, agreeing as they hummed sagely. Kaminari rolled his eyes as he pressed his point in a pleading tone, "C'monnn! "Being out in nature is s'posed to be freeing, yeah? Here, we don't gotta be embarrassed about anything!"
Ren chuckled as Sero bluntly said with a deadpan expression, arms crossed, "Except there's nothing natural about this place. Your 'great outdoors' is actually a man-made indoors."
Kaminari blinked before he muttered, forgetting that detail, "Oops. Forgot about that..."
However, Midoriya comforted Kaminari, looking up in an impressed tone, "I did, too, actually. Easy to forget, seeing those stars."
Thousands of stars twinkled in the simulated night sky overhead. Todoroki, awed by the scene, couldn't help but say, impressed, "Wow. It's like a planetarium."
It was when Kaminari smiled as he spoke up in a confident clasped his hands together excitedly, "Well, I say this is the perfect setup to reveal stuff we might be kinda shy about! So, let's swap dreams here under the fake stars! Personally, my goal is to be the awesomest hero you ever saw!"
Sero had a deadpan expression while listening to Kaminari's suggestion as he bluntly said, "Real original, this guy. Anyway, these fish are decent, but our meal could use some veggies. Ren if you would please?"
Ren smiled as he said politely, raising his hand, "Say no more, my culinary friend."
As he took out some veggies from his [Sub-Space], Kaminari asked, confused, "Hang on, what happened to the sharing circle?"
Ren handed Sero some veggies and a plate and replied to Kaminari's question bluntly, "Thanks for the veggies! Do you have any ranch by chance? As for you, Kaminari… Uh, every guy here's got the same dream as you. Duh."
Midoriya bashfully nodded, agreeing honestly, "That's probably true."
Kirishima confidently nodded as he said in a determined tone, "Basically, yeah! I'll be a badass hero who's as manly as they come!"
Todoroki simply nodded, agreeing like the rest, who said stoically, "Yeah, a hero, me too."
Ida nodded with a light grin as he said confidently, "Broadly speaking, I have the same dream!"
The boys' specific goals may have varied in their nuances, but 'hero' was the shared endpoint. A simple, clear, and definitive goal.
Kaminari, sounding deflated, said, "Yeah. Fair enough—hold up one second…"
The rest of the boys laughed not teasingly, and a wholesome mood fell over the group. But it was when Kaminari turned his head to Ren, who remained silent as he asked curiously, "Oi! Class Rep, you didn't say a word about what these guys said about being heroes. Care to explain yourself?"
The boys' laughs stopped as all eyes were on Ren as he looked a bit nervous. The boys knew that Ren wanted to be a Hero in the beginning, despite being Quirkless originally being the number 1 hero.
But the boys realized it was not a matter of how but when he takes the title. Thus, thinking his dream had already changed, Ren said shyly, "Well… do you guys really want to know? And like REALLY want to know?"
*Gulp*
The boys swallowed their spit, listening to the class rep's secret as they thought in stunned unison, 'ACK! A literal secret from the Class Rep!! TELL US!!'
Their eyes wanting answers, Ren smiled as he replied using [Shapeshift], scaring his classmates with one of Lloyd Frontera's expressions, scaring his classmates saying Jojo Quote in a neutral tone, "My name is Yoshikage Kira. I'm 33 years old. My house is in the northeast section of Morioh, where all the villas are, and I am not married. I work as an employee for the Kame Yu department stores, and I get home every day by 8 PM at the latest. I don't smoke, but I occasionally drink. I'm in bed by 11 PM, and I make sure I get eight hours of sleep, no matter what. After having a glass of warm milk and doing about twenty minutes of stretches before going to bed, I usually have no problems sleeping until morning. Just like a baby, I wake up without any fatigue or stress in the morning. I was told there were no issues at my last check-up. I'm trying to explain that I'm a person who wishes to live a very quiet life. I take care not to trouble myself with any enemies, like winning and losing, that would cause me to lose sleep at night. That is how I deal with society, and I know that is what brings me happiness. Although, if I were to fight, I wouldn't lose to anyone."
The boys screamed like girls, seeing Ren's expression change drastically as Kaminari pleaded in a scared tone, "AHHHH!!! IS THAT A JOJO REFERENCE?!! IT'S A DEMON!!! SOMEONE KILL IT WITH FIRE!"
*BRRRRR*
Todoroki responded as Ren was covered in fire with a deadpan expression. But changed his mind using one of many of Lloyd Frontera's expressions using his [Shapeshift] skill, saying in a demonic tone, "HA!!! YOU CAN'T KILL ME WITH FIRE! FOOLSSS!"
The boys screamed, turned high pitch, seeing his face as Ren thought satisfied, 'Ah… this is how bros should hang out. A bond forged by trauma binding us like one.'