Chapter Text
Aizawa woke up from his nap as the school bus bounced with the uneven road. One would think the group of screaming, excited teenagers would be enough to wake someone up, but he was used to it. He had been a teacher for years now, loud teenagers weren't a challenge for him. Though this year was really giving him a run for his money.
Maybe it was because this was his son's year, but he was sure none of his other students were this problematic. His class this year was very capable, and they had so much potential to do good. He was proud to be their teacher, but he had never been called by Nezu so many times about his students since his first year as a teacher. He didn't think it had to do with their amount of power. While they had a lot of talent in the magical department, he also had a lot of other students that had even more abilities than them. Hell, he had been the teacher of three different generations of Todoroki's, and he could tell their abilities were at the same level. Maybe Shouto had more raw power, but his sibling made up for that in resourcefulness and intelligence.
But there was something about this class that made them different, peculiar. Could it be the jade? He had noticed that all of his students had a piece of jewellery made out of silver and jade stone. He also knew that they hadn't all gotten them during their time as a class, and that they could conduct magic. They wore them all the time and made spells with their help. 'In fact,' he thinks as he looks back to the chatting teenagers. 'they were all wearing them right now. All except for one. The problem child number one,'.
Midoriya Izuku was a mystery. He had an explanation for everything. He was there when things happened, and at the same time, he wasn't. He was a wizard, but he might also not be. He was full of magic and had so much control over it, he probably didn't need to go to UA. And to add insult to the injury, Aizawa didn't know what he was.
He knew with just a look what his students were and their complicated mixes. He even had a hunch of what Asido was mixed with, and he ended up being right. But when it came to Midoriya, he had no idea, what-so-ever. He had animal instincts, but he wasn't driven by them. He was strong, but had no muscle mass. He was a vegan, but that could be because of his instincts or his bottomless empathy for living things. It was bruising his ego, not being able to figure out what he was. And Kan didn't help with his bet. Though he was looking forward to seeing the vampire get as confused and as frustrated as he was right now, when he tried to figure out what Midoriya was.
They soon arrive at their stop, a small sight-seeing spot on the side of the road. The students get out of the buses to stretch their legs, unaware of the consequences of their action. They commented about how beautiful and pretty the place was. When they notice that the other class was missing, Mandalay and Pixie-Bob introduced themselves.
"Start meowing around~!"
"Because here we are!"
"The Wild Wild Pussycats!"
The two camp counsellors exclaim, posing a victory stance. The class is not impressed by their theatrics and just stare at the two while Eraser explains. "The Pussycats are the ones responsible for the sacred forest we will have our training camp on," the two were wearing park rangers outfits, one red and one light blue, and their hats had little kitty ears at the top. "Everyone, say hello," Eraser instructs, and the class follows.
"Good to meet you, everybody! I'm Mandalay, and this is Pixie-Bob. We protect this whole stretch of land out here, everything you can see. The Summer camp you're staying at is over there. At the base of the mountain," the red one explains, pointing with her finger out in the distance. "Now, a few rules that you must follow if you want to stay here. Number one: Don't touch any of the Shrines. They are all marked with a scroll, but some of them are just piles of rocks, so be sure not to knock anything over,"
"Rule number two: respect the creatures. The animals living on these land are part of the environment, and no matter how small or old, they are all fundamental for the habitat we are in," Pixie-Bob continues.
"And rule number three, and most important of all: No Fires! I know some of you have a lot of fire-power in you, but this land has had enough of that. Under no circumstances should any of you start a fire, understood?" Mandalay order.
"Why are they telling all of this now?" Uraraka points out.
"I think we all know the answer to that," Asui comments, uncertain.
"No, they wouldn't do something like that, right?" Satou asks
"Yeah, I think I... left something on the bus..."
"Yeah, me too..."
They slowly try to go back to the bus, but Pixie-Bob gets in front of the door. She kneels down on the ground, and her hand lights up. Suddenly, the earth beneath explodes, sending all of them down to the forest. The fall doesn't hurt, and the teachers tell them to make it over to the camp before dinner. They also remind them of the rules one last time before going back to the bus.
Mandalay, Pixie-Bob, Aizawa and a little kid ride the rest of the way to the camp on the bus. The little kid, a grumpy and scowling brunette with a red hat, is Mandalay's nephew. His name is Kota, and he's been living with the Pussycats for a year now. He stays in the back of the bus while the adults talk about the plans for the classes.
He ignores them and their adult talk, preferring to look out the window to the forests, His forest. The one he grew up in and his parents once protected. The one those pesky students were going to dishonour and wreck with their recklessness. Kota didn't want them here. And he would bet anything that the spirits didn't want them here either. Mandalay had disagreed with him, said that new, jolly energy would be good for the forest. But how could two groups of rowdy teenagers bring that to a burnt-out forest?
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The second the teachers had stopped talking, Class 1A started coming out with a plan.
There was the suggestion to climb back to the road and follow the path, but if they did that, it would take too long. The Rangers had told them to arrive before dinner, or there would be no food. If they took the road, there is no way to get to the camp on time without a car or vehicle. They, the ones with the ability to fly, suggest carrying the rest who couldn't fly. But that idea is as quickly discarded too. The forest is not private property, and if a Normal sees them in their mythical forms, it could lead to disaster.
They all ended up trekking through the woods. Koda guided them with the helps of the animals, and they tried to stay together as much as they could. The way to the camp is long, but luckily not so hard. They only arrived at two minor complications and a bizarre occurrence that they were unable to label.
The first problem was the river, they came to it half-way through the forest, but there was no bridge or catwalk to cross it. The mermaid would not be able to overpass it without hurting themselves, and Kaminari would electrocute them all the minute he touched the water. Not to mention that as it got darker, the temperature started to drop, and walking around with wet clothes would make them catch a cold. Todoroki suggested making an ice structure to allow them to cross, but Deku stopped him before he could. The greenette pointed at a sign with markings and offerings, signalling that in the river were spirits they couldn't bother them. In the end, they arrange for some to carry each other. Uraraka makes Shinsou and Jirou float and guides them to the other side. Bakugou grabs Kaminari and Kirishima. Tokoyami takes Satou with the help of Dark Shadow. Aoyama lifts Midoriya. Hagakure carries Yaomomo. Sero slings to the other side using his webs. Mina and Asui take Koda. Ojiro shapeshifts a pair of wing in his back and moves Todoroki. And Shouji, with his tall frame, walked across it, carrying Iida on his arms.
Once they are all on the other side of the river, they take a small break to drink from the sacred stream. In the meantime, Todoroki uses his heat to dry the classmates who had to walk through the water, Shouji, Mina and Tsuyu. Once they are more-or-less dry, they return to their walking. That's when they arrive at the second complication, the animals.
For now, the only creatures they had come across so far were squirrels, mice and birds. Nothing too dangerous or scary. But all of a sudden, they found themselves on a nest of snakes. There were more trees, and the place was darker and damper than the rest of the woods. Ironically, it wasn't Koda who noticed the million of snakes perched on the trees, but Asui. Probably felt the danger of a predator nearby. It was not a pleasant experience, Like walking on a maze filled with walls that squirt venom.
Then, as they got closer to the camp, the bizarre occurrence was noticed. Tokoyami saw Midoriya walk pass him, giving Yaomomo some wild berries to keep up her strength, when he hears a small, tiny sneeze. Redirecting his sight towards the ground, Tokoyami sees a bunny rubbing his front paws on its face. The little white thing then hops towards Midoriya, three other bunnies following behind it. He grabs the person next to him, who is Ojiro with Hagakure on his back, and makes them look at the scene. One by one, all the member of Class 1A caught sight of the bunny trail behind their classmate, all except for the man himself, who suddenly exclaimed that he could see the light from the campsite.
When they finally arrived, they were all dirty and looking worse-for-wear. Pixie-Bob and Mandalay are there too, along with their homeroom teacher. The two park rangers start praising them about their excellent work and making it in time. But Izuku doesn't pay much attention to them. He catches sight of the red-cap wearing kid on the side, the same one that was on the road at the start of the day. When he activates his soul vision, he notices two giant cracks on the kid's soul, black and growing. It was kind of concerning, since he couldn't have been older than 10.
With a shiny smile and ignoring the adults talking, he goes to introduce himself to the kid. The teachers stop talking as they stare at the green-haired teen move to Kota with a fluffle behind him.
"Hi, I'm Midoriya Izuku! What's your-"
BANG!
The bunnies scramble back to the forest as the green-haired kid falls to his knees in pain.
"HOW COULD YOU DO THAT TO MIDORIYA'S SCROTUM!?" Iida screams as he hold Midoriya, Bakugou's snicker echoing in the distance.
"Welcome to camp, Class 1A,"