Chương 30: Test of Courage
Dinner was a grand fail again, but no one complained that the meat was either overdone or underdone or that some servings had too much salt, or that the veggies were cooked to the point of mush. Everyone just gratefully gobbled everything down.
Sakura and Izuku were chatting heartily, with Izuku trying to gain as much information as he could from his training partner.
"I don't know how I can get my body to move as well as yours, even with my full cowling," Izuku muttered, knocking his food around on his plate before scooping it into his mouth.
"It's not my quirk that makes my body flexible, it's from training. I can show you some exercises to do to improve your flexibility. I know you mostly focus on strength training,"
Izuku belched, "How'd you know that?"
"You were muttering throughout training," Izuku didn't notice when he spoke out loud sometimes, it was another result of his observational habits. Sakura warned him that if he went breaking down his opponent right in front of them, he would give away that he was figuring them out. "It's good to observe, but not always to share those observations,"
"R-Right! So about flexibility,"
"Tomorrow, try focusing more on your kicks that's the only way you're going to improve. If you combine your full cowling with your punches and kicks, you'll take your fighting to a whole new level. But you're going to have to learn to use it as a unit and not separate attributes,"
"I also want to learn that counter flip!" Izuku gushed, remembering how Hitoshi had used it to get him on the ground.
"Ah, that one, sure," Izuku beamed. Sakura had a lot of great advice when it came to his fighting style and his quirk, even though she didn't know the truth behind it. She was able to break apart its features to help Izuku improve in his training. All Might trained him in strength and Gran Torino helped him expand on his ability to use One for All. But Sakura was able to go much more in-depth with him in such a short period.
He hoped to get more help from her in the future.
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There was a brief reprieve after to digest and bath before both class A and B were called outside again.
Sakura and Izuku had missed the first announcement, but their teachers had planned for them to continue their activities. Pitting the two classes against one another, in a test of courage.
By the time everyone was outside, the son was gone. Everyone was brimming with excitement to be able to do something remotely related to camping.
Shouta didn't stay around long, nor did class B's homeroom teacher as there were still six students that had to take extra classes after training and would have to miss the event. Though it wasn't without putting up a fight, Shouta lead them away using his scarf as a leash.
For this test of courage, there were going to be two rounds. First Class B would go into the woods to wait on the route while class A in teams would go through. Class B would have to attempt to scare them.
"When you make it to the middle of the route, they'll be a card with your name written on it, take it back as proof. The group scaring people isn't allowed direct contact but you can use your quirks,"
Yawara then exclaimed, "The winning class will be the one that makes the most people piss their pants!"
Sakura pulled on the sleeves of her top, "Is this just for fun?" With how Shouta had been stressing about limited time to improve their quirks, Sakura hadn't thought they would be allowed time to play games like this. I
"Of course!" Tenya waved robotically, "Pitting us against each other in this manner will help polish our skills and improve on the uses of our quirks!"
"Tenya, you also said the teachers making us cook for ourselves was a means to teach us survival skills and keep up morale," Sakura thought it was just because they didn't want to bother cooking for over forty students and themselves, since they also ate what the students had prepared.
"That is correct, is-isn't it?"
"Sure,"
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The teams were set but with five absent the last team of eight was only a part of one, unfortunately for Izuku who had drawn that number. Katsuki wasn't too happy with his partner and attempted to trade off Shouto and Minoru wanted to switch teams with Yuga, but thankfully for Momo, he refused.
Sakura laughed watching the spectacles, her classmates were something else to behold. But they were eager to grow stronger and when it came down to it, they wanted to be heroes that others could rely on. Even if their values differed from her own. Suppose she was going to miss them after all.
'After this…'
"Sakura let's get ready!" Toru exclaimed, pulling on her to come to the entrance of the forest. They each had to wait a few minutes before they would have to go through the path.
"Alright kitties, you're up,"
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Although Class B had showcased quite a few good scares, most of them including jump scares with the students lurking in the woods, Sakura was surprised when she saw one of the girls from class B pop her head from underground like a mole, nothing had fazed her. The forest was one of her elements and with her ninja training, it was easy to sense the other's presence, especially when they had malicious intentions.
She even called out to Ragdoll when they made it to the halfway point and realized the hero was hiding behind the table.
Her partner on the other hand.
"You're doing great Toru, no one would dream you were afraid…unless they happen to glance at the bruises on my forearm," Sakura had invisible dents in her skin from where Toru was holding onto her.
"How could you not be freaked out after all that?"
"I'm sure you'll be able to get them back when it's our turn,"
"Doesn't explain why you aren't scared of anything,"
She snickered, "I guess I'm a little more sensitive, I've always been a bit observant,"
"Give me some of that," Toru grumbled.
Sakura wrapped her arm around Toru's shoulders, "Don't worry, we're halfway through anyway,"
Toru mumbled, tightening her grip on the pink-haired girl. "Thanks, Sakura,"
The invisible girl was surprised by Sakura's actions of letting her hang on. Throughout school, she was a bit reclusive and only seemed to speak out after others initiated the conversation. On the other hand, she was showing a little more cheerful side.
"I can't wait to make it to the end of this….." Toru didn't know why, but her body began to feel like her muscles became led, with a weight she couldn't carry. Her chest strained to rise and fall the more it pushed to do so, and her vision had become fogged. Wait was that fog? Purple mist? She couldn't tell as she collapsed all her weight onto Sakura.
"Toru!" Sakura took a breath and shut her mouth. The forest was filling slowly with a violet mist, that wasn't the only thing unnatural. It was poison without a doubt. Could this have been a part of someone else's scare tactic? She honestly wished that was the case.
Sakura wasn't affected by the poison herself, there was a certain build and tolerance she had for them, but it was obvious that something was happening. That this wasn't part of tonight's test of courage.
"Hang on Toru,"
Kicking off at top speed, Sakura kicked through the forest, intending to find out exactly what was going on.
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There was less light through the canopy of trees, but Sakura was able to leap across them. She could smell the woods burning from the wind direction. There was the gnawing hypothesis that this was a villain doing and there was only one group she knew of that intended harm on U.A. They wouldn't have a problem getting here if it was the League since they had Kurogiri, however, how could they have learned their location? And why were they here? Were they trying to make another attempt on Toshinori? He wasn't even here though.
'If there is someone on the inside, who was it?' The students were allowed to take their devices, and there were the heroes, then there were the teachers.
The building came into view from the clearing, Sakura tried not to jostle Toru too much in her arms. She wanted to examine her properly and make sure that she wasn't in any critical danger. The gas didn't have any effect on Sakura, but she wasn't as susceptible to poison as a normal person. At least that told her the strength of the poison wasn't too bad, but it was potent enough to knock a person out and cause paralysis making it harder to breathe.
From her knowledge of poisons, Sakura could tell this wasn't going to kill her, but she didn't have a lot of time to diagnose Toru before she headed out of the range of the gas.
'It has a range, so there must be something else behind it or someone,' The others were also in the forest and when Sakura was leaping through she smelt the burning wood and saw the blue flames rising on the other side of the camp. There was a division between the gas and the fire from what she saw. But it meant her classmates, class B, and the heroes were likely caught in the crossfire.
If Shouta was still in the classroom she could inform him of what was happening and get more help out.
Sakura was about to reach for the doors, when she sensed it, the corner of her eyes caught the sparks of blue before she jumped high into the air, avoiding the well-aimed flames of blue. The heat reached her even when the source hadn't. There she spotted the man, he was camouflaged well in the trees and was trying to move out of the way, but Sakura spotted him clearly in the distance.
"I know you're there! Come out!" That person had to be the source of the fire on the other side of the forest, and she didn't want him to try spreading it. If Shouto was there, he could use his ice to help the situation, and so could Pixie Bob but Sakura wanted to keep this guy from going out and causing any more chaos, especially with her classmates.
She might've seen him coming but that can't be a said guarantee for the others. Sakura glanced at the door, she had Toru in her arms still and didn't want the invisible girl caught in the literal crossfire. Slowly putting her down, watching as a person would a predator Sakura wove a quick sign to bring out a clone.
"You know what to do,"
"Right," She picked up Toru and ran inside.
"Well are you going to come out, or am I going to have to come to you?" Sakura held a warning. If she had to come to him, she would make sure he regretted trying to escape.
"You are good, aren't you Sakura Haruno?" The man who stepped forth wasn't anyone she was familiar with. His hair was like coal, and his face scarred horridly, the bottom of his eyes, his jaw, and chin, held together healthy and burned flesh together and she saw that the burns ran along the exposed areas of his arms, yet part of his hands was fine.
"Who the hell are you?"
"You can call me Dabi," He said. A nonchalant grin stretched on his lips. "And you're the infamous Sakura Haruno. The one who's got that Shigaraki in such a foul mood,"
Her expression darkened, "So you're with the League,"
He wasn't at the USJ, so Tomura must've gone out and got more supporters. But was this the same full-on attack as before? If so, how many other villains were around here? The poison and fires were seen on different sides of the forest, so there had to be more.
'I can't afford to waste any time,'
Just as that thought came, something happened. Mandalys telepath quirk had activated and her voice was ringing through Sakura's head as loudly as if the woman was standing right next to her.
"Everyone! We're being attacked by two villains. There may be more! Everyone who can move; back to camp immediately. Even if you come across the enemy, retreat, do not engage!
"What are you doing here?"
"Where is Katsuki Bakugou?"
Sakura paused, "What?"
They were looking for Katsuki? What would they want with him, wasn't Toshinori the original objective before? Of course, there was the attack on Izuku at the mall at that time, but this wasn't making sense. This couldn't be random targeting.
"Well I've found you, so I was wondering where he was too. This would wrap things up,"
She realized quickly the implications of his statement, "What do you want?"
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Sakura's clone rushed through the corridors quickly enough and made it to the classroom where the remedial lessons were taking place. Shouta and Vlad were standing at the whiteboard, in the middle of class. There was Eijiro, Mina, Sato, and Sero as well as Neito Monoma. The only person in Class B that had failed the final exams.
"Sakura, what's happening out there?" Shouta asked, moving to take Toru from her and place the girl on the line of desks. Her classmates gathered over until their homeroom teacher told them to stand back.
"What's wrong with Toru?" asked Mina.
"She's been poisoned, I think someone released gas," The clone explained. "There's an attack on the camp, someone is outside. I'm a clone, the original Sakura is dealing with that guy,"
Shouta turned back to the door, he barely glanced back at his colleague, his eyes unfocused. "Vlad, look after them!"
The clone didn't try to stop him. Her original was just outside, and her objective was to make sure Toru was okay and to defend this place in case more villains emerged.
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"What do you want? To kill me?" She would consider things simpler if that was their goal, based on Tomura's volatile nature, he might be holding a grudge against Sakura and wanted to take her down. It did seem like a lot of trouble to go through though, but they were also after Katsuki. What kind of methods could they have used to find them? Just what were these groups' end game?
"I wouldn't talk like this if it were that simple," Dabi raised his hand, the flames emerging in the palm as if it was cool as ice. It was strange in her opinion. She recognized burn scars, but there was something about his flesh that that just wasn't natural, not just in appearance. As a medic, something seemed off. But if he had done that to himself, she could already deduce that his flames were so strong that his own body could burn from them.
Different from Enji or Shouto's who could take their flames temperature at least externally.
She avoided the flames, taking to the air. "Then what the hell do you want with me?"
"Not just you, we're also looking for Katsuki Bakugou,"
Sakura's eyes widened, "Katsuki,"
They were looking for them, but it wasn't to kill apparently but that lead her to draw one conclusion. Capture.
"So that's it. You want to take us with you,"
Dabi smirked, holding out his hand, flames already blazing, "But I take it you won't come without a fight,"
"Not a chance," This was going to turn into a full-scale fight when the flickering fire burning around Dabi's palm came to an abrupt halt. He glanced indifferently to the building's entrance where Shouta had rushed through. His eyes were red and his bangs raised with the activation of his quirk, canceling out the flames.
"Get away from my students,"
'Dammit,' Sakura was hoping to pry more information out of Dabi about the villain's goals. They were after her and Katsuki, but she didn't know the real purpose behind capturing them. Did Tomura Shigaraki want something with them or was it something else entirely? If she put an end to the League of Villains then her classmate's biggest threat would be swept away. But if Sakura didn't know what motivated their continued attacks, she would have a harder time trying to figure out how to stop them.
Unfortunately, Shouta didn't study the art of tactical interrogation and was quick to ensnare Dabi with his scarf, pushing him to the ground as if he wanted to bury the man.
"Tell me your purpose, number, and positions," Sakura wanted to slap her forehead. At the end of it, even an underground hero had the doctrine of moving before realizing it. This person wasn't like the villains they faced at U.A. If Shouta wanted to probe for information, it was better not to get too close to the enemy until you were certain you couldn't probe from afar.
Another problem having Shouta here was he wouldn't allow Sakura to step back into the fray because of the order sent in by Mandalay.
They wouldn't be able to threaten the man's life, although Shouta showed he wasn't above breaking a few bones to get answers, as he pulled back on Dabi's wrist until it snapped and dislodged the socket.
"You're right arms next. Let's do this logically, if we get to your legs it'll be annoying to drag you back,"
"Aizawa," Sakura tried calling to him, but the ground suddenly shook. Too quick to be considered a mini-earthquake but strong. Where had that just come from? Was this the villains doing?
"Stay back Haruno,"
"Aizawa-sensei!"
She was about to refute when she saw four silhouettes rushing through the forest, her classmates that hadn't gone down the route for the game. Minoru, Tenya, Mashirao and Kyoka. Terrified and out of breath.
"What?" Shouta was distracted and Dabi took the chance to get out from under, but he was still trapped in the scarf and was barely able to stand on his feet.
"As expected of a teacher, hey hero," Shouta drew his scarf to bring Dabi back down, but the fabric ripped through him, from what was meant to be flesh and bone to clothing, from the gap, a dark liquid oozed like clay. "Are you students so important?"
"What the hell is that?" Sakura hissed. He had a fire quirk, so what was making his body do that? An unsettling feeling rested in her gut as Sakura realized the rest of Dabi was dematerializing into that goop and they were losing their only source of information.
"I hope you can protect them until the end," With that, he vanished into a puddle.
"Aizawa-sense, what was that just now?" Tenya asked, rushing with his classmates. He refused to use his quirk to go ahead when they left the camp, wanting to make sure his classmates were safe and to help defend them if trouble found them.
Shouta ran passed them, "All of you go inside, I'll be right back! Haruno do not take off!"
"Hey!" Sakura called but he was already engulfed in the woods.
"Sakura you're here too? Are the others inside?" asked Kyoka, although it was clear that the pink-haired girl had been taken somewhere with her thoughts for a few seconds.
"Did something happen over there?" Sakura asked.
"Ye-Yes, villains are attacking, Pixie Bob, Mandalay, and Tiger are dealing with them," said Mashirao.
"But Pixie-Bob was unconscious when a villain got the drop on us, Mandalay sent us back," Kyoka explained.
"Are the other's already inside?" asked Tenya.
Sakura tightened her fists, glaring out into the forest. There was a fire on one side, poison gas on the other, and villains at the starting line, and the majority of class A and B were still out there facing all of these.
"Go inside," Her tone was firm, as she stepped away from the group and towards the woods. Tenya immediately attempted to get in front of her, grabbing her wrist.
"Wait a moment! Aizawa-sensei told us to wait in the building, you can't be thinking of going out there now with villains. We weren't given permission to fight!"
Sakura swung out of Tenya's grip, "I'm going to find and protect our classmates,"
Grinding his teeth, Tenya shouted, "YOU CAN'T. YOU'RE ALREADY IN SUCH A SITUATION, DON'T MAKE IT HARDER ON YOURSELF,"
It has been grating on him ever since Tenya discovered the truth about Sakura's personal life. It saddened him when he looked at her and realized that she was completely on her own. He thought that contributed to her reckless nature. To take on everything by herself, but he didn't know how to stop her. Still, he would try.
"It won't be safe for all of you if I stay here anyway," Sakura gritted and she could feel their eyes burning with curiosity and she didn't have time to let them linger. "The villains are after me,"
"What-
Tenya couldn't keep track of her movements as she flash-stepped out of sight, they tried calling her back in vain but no one dared venture back into the forest. Shouta's instructions were still clear in their heads.
"SAKURA"
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