Chapter 187: Springtime Snowy Mountain Camping (5)
~Third POV~
[Snowy Mountain – Tents, Japan]
In the end, the boys decide that Midoriya will stay with Bakugo (the bait), and Todoroki and Kirishima will resume the search. Midoriya, in his normal form without his Armored Deku, asked Bakugo in his voice as he said, "Try to get some rest, Kacchan. You're not too cold, right?"
Bakugo had gotten fired up over the idea of blasting the monster with his patented explosions, but now that Midoriya was back to babying him, a deadly edge of anger crept into his voice as he said, "Shut up."
Midoriya sighed as he put up with Bakugo and said calmly, "But we've really got to keep you warm…"
However, Bakugo remained defiant against Midoriya's help as he yelled angrily, "I said, shaddup! Nobody asked you to care!"
To Bakugo, someone fretting over him was as good as calling him out for being weak, which amounted to no less than a grave insult for a boy who was constantly striving to be number one. Bakugo's rage made Midoriya flinch for a second, but he shot back with fire and strength in his voice as he said defiantly, "Of course, I care! Why don't you get that?"
This defiance from Midoriya broke the last remaining thread of Bakugo's self-restraint as he roared off, "Screw off! And keep outta my face until I'm back on top of my game! Who the hell do you and those goons think you are, staring down at me like I'm some kinda sick puppy!"
But Midoriya argued back as he said in a concerned tone, "It's only natural to worry about a sick person!"
Bakugo being difficult roared back defiantly says glaring at Midoriya, "And I'm telling ya to cut that crap out!"
Bakugo ripped off one glove with his teeth and lunged at Midoriya, ready to unleash an explosion. But Midoriya was ready, and he grabbed the ticking time bomb of a hand before it could do any damage.
Feeling Midoriya's warm flesh against his own, Bakugo's eyes bulged. Midoriya, unsure why the charging bull had stopped so suddenly, asked in a confused tone, "What is it, Kacchan?"
Bakugo summoned the most disgusted expression he could muster, clucked his tongue, and placed the heel of his hand against Midoriya's forehead as he said before shoving Midoriya's head away with force, "I ain't the only one with a fever."
Midoriya, who regained his balance and raised his own hand to his forehead, said in a surprised tone, "What? No way. Ah, I do feel pretty warm. Did I catch a cold out here? I have been feeling kind of sluggish. Hmm. Maybe this nasty weather is to blame."
Bakugo's eyes twitched as he thought, annoyed, 'This guy, I swear …'
Bakugo stared as Midoriya prattled on with his objective analysis, but just then, a distant scream pierced the howling wind as Midoriya sprang into action and said, "That sounded like Kirishima! You stay here, Kacchan!"
By the time Bakugo emerged from his tent, Midoriya—powered by his Armored Deku—had already dashed off into the night and vanished. This summoned an unspeakable frustration deep within Bakugo.
Midoriya was never one to take his own needs into account, always giving 100 percent of himself to whatever cause had his attention. He never even stopped to question his own actions, as if his approach was the most natural thing in the world.
But Bakugo realized that this time, something else entirely was getting to him. "Tch…"
He ran off after Midoriya, but he didn't get far before hearing a monstrous, bloodcurdling roar from nearby. Bakugo kept running, and at last, the beast came into view as he muttered stunned, "What in the fresh hell …"
A towering bipedal giant covered in white fur came into view just ahead. It resembled the elusive cryptid known as the yeti, but it was far bigger and quicker than the stereotypical image of the abominable snowman—and equipped with razor-sharp claws to boot.
Midoriya, standing nearby on high alert, finally noticed Bakugo as he yelled, "Kacchan! Why'd you follow me?"
Bakugo flipped his middle finger saying, "Cuz screw you!"
Midoriya sighed at this as Todoroki spoke up, alerting his friends in a stoic tone, "Midoriya! This thing is powerful …"
He and Kirishima were already engaged in battle with the giant. While Todoroki distracted the beast, Kirishima took the opportunity to rush at it with a hardened fist, ready for a walloping, but the yeti saw him coming and sent him flying with a smack from its colossal arm.
*SMACK*
Bakugo's eyes widened as he shouted in concern, "Kirishima!"
Midoriya fired up his Armored Deku. Immediately, he dashed using its rocket thrusters and aimed a kick at the creature, but it dodged deftly, exhibiting a surprising level of agility for its size.
*Swooosh*
Dodging it, Midoriya said, alarmed, "Darn! It's so quick!"
Next up was Bakugo. He flew at the yeti using his propulsive explosions and aimed a [Stun Grenade] flash at its face, planning to blow the creature to kingdom come while it was temporarily blinded.
Unfortunately, the yeti seemed somehow immune to the stunning attack, and it swung an oversized fist at its newest assailant.
Bakugo took a direct hit, slammed to the snowy ground by the yeti's fist as he groaned in pain, "Gahh!"
Midoriya, wasted no time in rushing at the yeti and landing one of his attacks, slamming the Yeti in the face. The sound made a resounding clang from Armored Deku's rocket punch.
*CLANG*
The yeti barely flinched before grabbing Midoriya and tossing him like a rag doll. However, Todoroki shouted, "[Heaven Piercing Ice Wall]!"
*KRACKLE*
In a flash, the yeti was encased in a monolith of ice. The boys thought the worst was over until the ice started shaking.
*CRACK*
Cracks spread across the surface, and they knew it was only a matter of time before the beast would free itself. Midoriya murmured in a serious tone, "Its power and speed are off the charts… Not to mention, nothing we do is dealing any sort of lasting damage."
Bakugo—the last one to join the hunt—noticed Midoriya muttering to himself near the giant block of ice as Midoriya said in a serious tone, "I guess… we just have to knock it down and make it stay down somehow…"
Just as Midoriya was sizing up the situation with quiet resolve in his eyes under his Hero Costume. But an instant later, the ice exploded apart, and a chunk obscured Midoriya's vision just long enough to allow the newly freed yeti to catch him unaware.
"Midoriya!"
*BRRR*
Todoroki shot a blast of fire from the side, but the yeti dodged, charged straight through the searing flames like they barely even tickled, and smacked Todoroki away. Midoriya ran up and sunk a fist into the yeti's face as he yelled, "Oh no! Todoroki!"
*SMASH*
Sensing that the blow had had little effect, he swung another fist straight at the monster's eye. But it was when the unusual sound was heard that Midoriya's eyes narrowed hearing metal clashing against each other.
*KRAK*
Midoriya felt that something was off about all this, but the roaring beast didn't give him a moment to ponder. Now locked on to its prey, the yeti gave chase as Midoriya intentionally ran off in the other direction.
Bakugo pursued—powered by his explosions—and soon realized what Midoriya was up to; the plan was to lure the monster to the lake. The blizzard grew fiercer than ever, obscuring Midoriya's vision, and his feverish body turned numb from the biting cold within his armor as Midoriya thought, 'Fuck… note to self-make the Armored Deku more temperature-proof and safe for the user.'
Driven forward by sheer instinct, he piloted a body that barely felt like his own. When pride and reputation fade from the forefront, all that remains to face the world is the unadulterated quality of a person, which has a way of exploding forth in an instant.
That's when the true nature of someone's spirit emerges. The image of Midoriya extending that hand resurfaced in the back of Bakugo's mind.
Despite having no Quirk and being useless (at least in Bakugo's eyes), Midoriya always presses forward when it means helping someone, just like a true hero, as that line made him remember, 'Need help? Can you stand?'
When Midoriya had reached out to him that day, that was what Bakugo had felt, and it had inspired a nameless dread in him. He realized that this unlikeliest candidate was in fact far closer to the lofty pinnacle he sought than he himself was, and learning this filled him with a blend of panic and fear.
The constant frustration he felt with Midoriya was, upon reflection, actually anger at himself for daring to imagine that he might lose in a contest of quality. All along, he would shy away from this truth and refuse to acknowledge it, even when doing so would have been such a weight off his shoulders.
Instead, the irritation remained because Midoriya himself had never changed over the years. The setting and relationships might be ever-shifting, and he never stopped growing as a person, but Midoriya's essence was rock-solid and immutable.
Nothing could distract him from his cause—not even petty arrogance—and so he was able to continue pushing forward, wearing his heart on his sleeve, and he most likely would until the day he died. At the same time, somewhere in Bakugo's mind was a quiet fear that Midoriya's pure, genuine spirit would collapse under its own weight someday, bringing it all crashing down.
This thought was yet another nagging thorn in his side. Bakugo caught up at last and—through the fearsome blizzard—spotted Midoriya dodging the yeti's attacks as he yelled, getting Midoriya's attention, "Deku!"
Midoriya was stunned underneath his armor as he asked, "Kacchan? How'd you…?"
Bakugo merely stated in a blunt tone of Midoriya's plan, "Figured out your freakin' plan is what I did!"
Midoriya's eyes widened underneath his helmet, and he nodded, prompting Bakugo to fly into the yeti's face and pepper it with explosions as he expressed a feral grin, prompting to use his Quirk in an excited tone, "I'm the guy you want, you stinkin' fuzzball!"
*KABOOOM*
As Bakugo propelled himself out of the monster's reach with his blasts, Midoriya circled ahead and tempted the yeti toward the lake. They took turns luring the monster along until at last the lake was in sight.
Bakugo picked up speed and flew over the water, but an instant before the yeti would've plunged into the icy lake, it came to an abrupt stop. With a cluck of his tongue, Bakugo performed an about-face and prepared to blast the yeti from overhead, but things didn't work out as planned.
Instead, the yeti leaped straight up and snatched Bakugo out of the air as Midoriya yelled alarmed, "Kacchan!"
*SMASH*
Midoriya caught up and aimed a powerful kick at the arm holding Bakugo. Rocked off-balance, the yeti took a hit from Bakugo's explosions, which allowed the latter to escape its grasp.
*KABOOM*
Without so much as glancing at each other, the two boys swung behind the beast and launched attacks at its back in unison. Each powered up instantly as they unleashed their attack the Armored Deku charged electricity till he pointed his gauntlet transforming into a cannon…
"[Armored Deku: RAILGUN]!"
"[Howitzer Impact]!"
*PEW*
*KABOOOOOM*
*SPLASH*
With one last roar, the yeti crashed down into the water and sank below the surface. Bakugo spat toward the water, "Took ya long enough to get dunked."
Midoriya panted, tired from the exchange, and said in an urgent tone, "We'd better run back and help the others!"
But as the boys turned away from the lake, the blizzard was suddenly no more, and night turned to day as if a switch had been flipped. This caused the two to mutter in confusion at the bizarre scene.
"Huh? The hell?"
"Um?"
Before they could contemplate what was happening, a voice echoed down from the artificial heavens, "Midoriya and Bakugo get credit for that one. Good work."
But both recognize the voice as they listened. Midoriya said, responding to what must have been speakers in the ceiling of the massive structure, "Is that you, Aizawa Sensei?"
Bakugo growled, who now had a nasty hunch about what was going on. He sternly muttered, "Credit, huh?"
From the speakers in the ceiling of the massive structure, Aizawa replied bluntly, "You didn't really think this training facility was being made available for a laid-back spring-break experience, did you? This was all part of a special lesson."
Midoriya pointed at the Yeti in the lake in a confused tone, "B-but what about the yeti?"
Bakugo said bluntly, with his eyes narrowed at the lake, visibly annoyed, "One helluva robot, courtesy of Power Loader, I'm betting. But I'm betting it's that damn thief."
*Splash*
As if on cue, the Yeti appeared, shifting transformation in a flash as it revealed to be Ren groaning in an annoyed tone, "Bingo! Man, your guy's senses are sharp but fuck did you have to go all out like that?"
Bakugo clicked his teeth, annoyed, but a smug grin appeared as he got to attack the Class Rep. Midoriya, on the other hand, pointed at Ren as he muttered in disbelief, "And the rumors that you heard from Hado…?"
Ren sheepishly grinned as Aizawa explained in a blunt tone and congratulated the Class Rep's participation, "Yeah, I asked Hado to plant that seed. To get you to start believing. All part of a rational deception, of course. Along with Class Rep's disappearance acting as the Yeti without him participating to rely on him."
Midoriya slumped to his knees as he said in an annoyed tone at Aizawa's teaching, "We should've expected this from U.A.! Why do we keep falling for this every damn time!!"
Midoriya struggles to keep himself from raving about the wonders of their school and always trusts Aizawa only to bamboozle him. Bakugo grumbled, keeping his Baku-blowup to a minimum since their teacher was watching and listening, "Messing with us like that… at least I got to blow up that damn thief that's a win in my book."
That was when the two heard another voice calling out to them, "Ho, there! Midoriya! Bakugo!"
Midoriya turned as he spotted Todoroki and Kirishima approach along with Ida, Kaminari, and Sero, who were not imprisoned in a monster's lair, and said happily, "Ida! You guys!"
The other five boys had also learned about Aizawa's 'special lesson.' Kaminari, sounding almost disappointed with himself, said, "When that big fuzzy guy snatched me up and carried me off, I thought I was a goner for sure."
Ida, never one to miss a chance to reflect on his performance, said, "And I failed to see the beast approaching in the midst of that blizzard."
Sero, meanwhile, was fuming as he glared hatefully at Ren and he said in an annoyed tone, "You think you guys had it bad! There I was, right after taking a leak, when a guy's guard was totally down! Then this guy just transformed and attacked me from behind, taking a leak!! I couldn't do a thing to fight back."
Ren merely chuckled at Sero's words as he replied cheekily, "That sounds like a skill issue to me."
Sero shot a heated glare at Ren, who whistled innocently. Kirishima said in a disappointed tone, brooding over his failure, "I tried to put up a decent fight, but I just couldn't cut it."
Todoroki nodded his head as he said, "Same here."
Then, Aizawa spoke to his students through the speakers in the ceilings as he explained bluntly, "I want a written report from each of you discussing the way you responded to a villain attack within unfavorable environmental conditions, including how you might have done better. Oh, and don't breathe a word about this lesson to your classmates. Understood?"
The boys, realizing that their teacher might eventually unleash this same 'rational deception' on their unsuspecting classmates, all said, "Yes, Sensei."
They looked at each other and broke into weary smiles. Kaminari broke the silence as he said with a strained smile, "Well, that sure happened!"
Having the chance to smile at last seemed to strip away a layer of their fatigue. This had been one outrageous camping trip, but in a funny way—training lesson or not—it had almost felt like a breather for these hero hopefuls as Aizawa added, "You'll be provided with new tents so you can sleep there for the remainder of the night. But Midoriya and Bakugo—report to the nurse's office. Minding your health is part of the job, so from now on, you're to speak up when you know you're sick."
Midoriya said, surprising the other six boys, who hadn't realized he was ill too. "Okay."
As the pair walked back to the entrance of the facility in silence, the artificial sunlight switched off once more, plunging the mountain into the darkness of night. Midoriya said, hoping to strike up a conversation, "That yeti sure was strong… but it was the Class Rep again."
Bakugo said with a laugh, "Just another chump to me."
This earned him a chipper smile from Midoriya as he said curiously, "Can you imagine if a cryptid like that did exist? Hard to fight back against something we know so little about, right? We got lucky with that lake, but what if there hadn't been an easy solution like that? I don't know if we could've … Ack!"
Midoriya pitched forward, having snagged his foot in the deep snow, but before he could do a face-plant, Bakugo's hand shot out and grabbed his arm. Midoriya, sounding almost confused, said, "Huh? Oh, thanks, Kacchan."
Bakugo repaid the confusion by gritting his teeth, releasing the arm, and kicking Midoriya square in the back, sending the latter sprawling into the snow.
"Bwah!"
Midoriya's face pops out of the snow as he said, "What'd you do that for?"
Bakugo, already storming off, said in an annoyed tone, whispering, "Shut up and keep marching, Deku – Midoriya."
Midoriya, as he struggled to catch up, froze, mishearing what Bakugo said, "Wait up, Kacchan – huh?"
Midoriya tried to ask again, but Bakugo refused to reply, not yet ready to call him by his name till he got over his weaknesses first. Overhead, the stars twinkled in the simulated sky.