Chapter 84 - Spring Break

The last weeks of term were marked by an unexpected request from their homeroom teacher, Aizawa, to celebrate Setsubun." Huh?!" Whisper asked as eloquently as he could as they lined up before the teacher in their gym uniforms outside in the adjacent forest. " You want us to play? Are you finally losing it?"" For God's sake, just stuff it Whisper." Yuu tried to push the ghost out of view albeit it was proven to be hard." This sounds fun!" Ashido cried running off to the box held by their teacher to draw their teams. It was either Team Oni or Team Momotaro." Hey, Seijin," Tokoyami called as he walked back, having already picked up his team and headed to join Bakugo, who was appointed by their teacher in Team Oni and didn't even have to draw. " Is it true that throwing beans drives away evil spirits?"" Wouldn't Whisper be affected?" Added Kirishima." What you take me for!" Whisper puffed his chest in indignation at that. " Definitely not," Yuu fought not to sigh visibly as he dipped his hand into the box. " Believe me, I've tried it a lot as a kid. On the other hand, Setsubun seems to be some fun show for spirits as they watch humans try to keep them off. Which actually brings more of them into the house to witness it."As everyone pondered on the sudden revelation about their traditions, Yuu peeked down at his paper and almost cringed, throwing a look over his shoulder at the boy shouting left and right at the ones who came to join him." I got team Momotaro!" Sora announced happily as she made for him. " What about you?"Yuu sweatdropped, holding his snippet at arm's length as if about to burn. That alone was enough of an answer to her. " Want to trade?" She asked offering her snippet with a smile.Yuu almost agreed, but he thought better of it. " No... It's fine. It's not like he will blast me off."An explosion from behind him made him rethink his words.In the end, the teams were formed. Midoriya, Sora, Uraraka, Asui, Mineta, Kaminari, Jiro, Sero, Ashido, Ojiro, Hagakure, Sato, and Koda were Team Momotaro. The rest were Team Oni.Iida pointed out how unbalanced the teams were, which Aizawa explained as he handed them their weapons, beans for Team Momotaro and cudgels for Team Oni. " A Momotaro is out if they get hit by a cudgel, an Oni is out if they get hit by three beans, which could be collected and reused. Team Oni wins if they wipe out Team Momotaro. Team Momotaro wins if they rescue the hostage held by Team Oni."Everyone blinked at the introduction of a hostage in the game. Eri was to play that role, and Aizawa advised them to treat her as though she was a real hostage. " A real hostage?" Whisper wondered aloud." It means, even though we might be the ones taking her hostage, we should, as heroes, try to treat her the same way we treat hostages we rescue," Yuu whispered back as Aizawa elucidated his point to the rest of the class.Bakugo was given a special assignment, befriending Eri. That made Whisper roar with laughter. " Oh my, nice one! But there is no way in hell this delinquent would ever be able to win that kid's heart!"" Shut up egg head or I'm boiling you!" Bakugo threatened as he stomped to the hut up the hill, clearly irritated." Oh man, he's really angry," Yuu mumbled, recognizing the boy would be a mess of insults and rage to deal with. Was it too late to consider switching sides?" Yuu!" Sora ran off to him, a fire in her eyes as she held her fists up. " Let's do our best! I won't hold back if we face off together!"Yuu blinked twice, never the less, he returned her smile with a confident one. " Neither will I!"Feeling satisfied, Sora sprang back to her team while Yuu joined his up the hill. Every one of his team seemed to agree on one thing, that Bakugo befriending Eri would be a feat of fantasy. Nevertheless, they promised to help.Eri introduced herself timidly as they walked inside. Yaoyorozu, Yuu, and Kirishima, having met her a couple of times on the campus grounds, greeted her as well, and the girl seemed less tense around them.The others, it might take a few attempts for her to warm up to them. Only Bakugo didn't try at all to hide his discomfort and anger, which made the girl's nervousness worse.That earned him a rebuke from Iida and a punch on the head by Whisper." What the hell are you doing!" Although his voice wasn't exactly a yell, it made the girl jolt and scamper away. Yuu was thankful however that he didn't attempt an explosion like always." Try putting yourself in her shoes." Whisper hissed at him. " Does she know of your assignment? No. So for you to express your anger openly like that, she might think it's directed at her." A finger pointing in Eri's direction where Iida was trying to soothe her made the blond boy cluck his tongue in annoyance.Their team decided to split, with Bakugo staying back to guard Eri and work on befriending her, while the others went to fend against the Momotaros...________________Sora climbed the hill on foot, as flying was ill-advised, and the thick leafage wouldn't allow her to move freely if she attempted to stay at a low altitude. Despite that, her wings were out and ready to pull her from the ground the moment she needed to.As she made her way slowly, watching out for the faintest rustle or the furthest shadow, she failed to take notice of the cudgel floating vertically over her head.All they needed was to touch the opponent with a cudgel, not defeat them in a fight, so a stealthy plan like that was Yuu's best choice. With Whisper turning invisible, it was all but impossible for Sora to spot the oncoming attack.He was wrong. Of course, he would be. Sora was his childhood friend. Just like he knew exactly which way she would pick up the slope, she knew what plan he had in mind.Just when Whisper let go of the weapon, Sora bolted forward, avoiding it by a hear's breadth, and flew into the cover of foliage." You shouldn't have dropped, Whisper."Now visible, the ghost looked around the thick cover of leaves as Sora's voice resounded through the air. " The air whistling gave it away. If you kept it in hand and touched me with it, it might have worked better."From his spot up a tree, Yuu looked feverishly for the source of the voice, only for his eyes to go wide when the girl dropped behind him. " I thought better of you, Yuu."Before she could use the beans, Yuu grabbed the branch he was standing on and flung himself forward. He whirled around the bough, evading the first bean before letting go and dropping to the ground. He fell back and trundled once before he managed to gather his bearings.Sora was relentless, already standing before him. Yuu scowled as a blue fire sparked on the side of his head and he summoned a burst of blue flame, pushing them away.It was a mistake, for she managed to grasp her lost bean. " On guard!" She flung herself forward with a wide smirk." That's my words!" Yuu flung his fire whips. Sora evaded them, but that also meant that she couldn't approach him directly.There was only one choice left for her.As she twirled around to evade another whip, she kicked the ground and soared up. What she didn't expect was for Whisper to be hiding within the thick blanket of leaves, smirking broadly and ready to flung the cudgel down. She couldn't break her dash in time.The cudgel fell upon her head and the girl fell down, holding her forehead and complaining about Whisper's lack of courtesy." Serves you, right!" As he turned around to Yuu, Whisper was surprised to find the boy standing still with a blank expression as he was surrounded by three beans." Shirogane and Seijin are out," announced Aizawa listlessly." Huh! How!" Whisper asked, looking around as if to find a replay screen somewhere.Yuu laughed, and so did Sora. " You hid Whisper and waited for me to fly."" You threw the beans in the air to make them rain down on me."The two of them laughed even as they were held in a cute jail with the principal's picture on it. Whisper couldn't understand their ecstasy at all. " You lost! You both lost! You took each other out!"" We know," they continued to laugh. Whisper gave up and just resigned to wait until the game was over, which, based on the rest of their classmates' retelling, ended with Eri taking out the last Oni, Bakugo, herself...________________Fourteenth of February, a famous day for the girls who wanted to confess to their secret crushes or thank their lovers, or so Sora thought.It appeared, as she sat down and listened to Ashido explain all about the types of chocolates gifted on Valentine's Day, that her knowledge was lacking." Huh?"" Don't tell me you never gifted chocolate in your life!" Somehow, the girls seemed appalled at the mere thoughts. " Not even to Seijin!"" I mean, I had no boyfriend! I thought it was only for lovers!" The girl defended. " And Yuu is my childhood friend!"" Still," Ashido pinched the bridge of her nose and dragged Sora to the kitchen. " We're making some chocolate for the whole class right away!"The girls embarked on their work, boiling tablets of chocolate and, according to their taste, additions were made.Sora was visibly disappointed at not being able to steal some for herself, but Sato was even stricter than she was when it came to cooking. That is, he counted the tablets twice to make sure none was swept by chocolate lovers, although they managed to taste some of it as they were mixing.The chocolate would be in the end devoured by their class nonetheless, so they might as well have some patience.The conversation quickly drifted away from sharing chocolate to the feedback on food or drinks that were prepared with much effort by the self-proclaimed chefs of their class. " What about you, Shirogane-san?" Yaoyorozu turned on her." Huh?"" You usually make us Japanese delights," Sato pointed. " How do you feel about the others' feedback on them? Doesn't it bother you when it's just a simple 'Yum'?"Sora cocked her head as she recalled the times she had claimed the kitchen to prepare treats for her classmates. Truly, although most of their class would be full of praise and compliments, some rather preferred to keep their words simple or in certain cases, unspoken. " Hm, I don't suppose it really disappoints me, some of our friends are just, scarce with their words." She shrugged. " Still, seeing everyone wolfing them down is enough for me. If it's something I don't like, is when Midoriya starts on his long analysis and doesn't enjoy it to the end."She remembered the number of times she had to force her snack into his mouth so he could eat them. Sato and Yaoyorozu on the other hand seemed to like those lengthy feedbacks. But they agreed they didn't like it when their tea grew cold in his hands or their sweets melted away before he could enjoy them.Both seemed to have some harsh experience with Bakugo as he tended to pick up on the faintest defaults. " He never said anything about my treats though." Sora racked her mind as if trying to find a memory that could contradict that claim. " Neither good nor bad."" I guess it may be because you're quite a perfectionist yourself when it comes to Japanese confections. I've seen you work on them before, helped you a couple of times, and you're really passionate about it," Sato stated." Well, I've learned from the best," she laughed while continuing her stirring. " Grandma always says that the more attention you give those sweets, the better they turn out, that you should never take your eyes off them, never think of anything but them, and the results will be worth it."Yaoyorozu and Sato nodded their understanding.As they chatted about their little embodiment of lust, all eight of them turned the bowls of melted chocolate into cakes, cookies, brownies, truffles, and the like.They left them in the fridge to cool down while Uraraka and the other girls walked out to stretch up and take a break." Aren't you leaving as well?" Sato asked as he saw Sora tying up an apron." Well, someone needs to clean up this mess, and I don't want to leave you to deal with it on your own." With a nod of gratitude, the two of them began cleaning up.Once the dishes were washed and left to dry, Sora noticed Sato bring out a heart-shaped chocolate, one that he must have prepared earlier, and began decorating it. " What are you doing?"" You heard the girls, right, about Mineta..." the boy rubbed his head sheepishly. " I don't think he is going to get any heartfelt chocolate, so, for all intents and purposes, I thought I must prepare him one. So he doesn't go out of control."Sora considered the point, a chocolate-starved Mineta seemed worse than his normal self. She agreed with a vigorous nod...________________The spring break started rather slowly as they were confined to their dorms, only able to leave for their work studies.Yuu could have stayed in Fat Gum's agency, but he preferred his own room in the Heights Alliance to that. Plus, the paperwork was torture.That day, they arrived back just along with the trio from Endeavor's agency, Midoriya, Todoroki, and Bakugo. For some reason, he thought the blond boy was quieter than usual, no insults or explosions.They were greeted by Sero and Kaminari, who expressed their desire to go somewhere and have some fun for the spring break. Iida turned around just in time to rebuke the two for their lack of responsibility towards their studies.One by one, they all joined the conversation, each expressing their opinions.Whisper watched the exchange between the students silently before finally increasing the size of his head and shouting at them for silence. " You're no fun soldiers! I've never, in my whole life and second life, seen a student willing to stay inside on their Spring Break! Studying and working is fine and all! But a window for revitalization is needed! Don't you all feel the stress building up!? Don't you want to go somewhere and get loose!?"" Is that what you think, Whisper?" said a familiar voice, incurring their attention to the door of the living area." Aizawa-sensei!"His appearance had the effect of draining the air of the room and everyone sat or stood straighter than ever as they waited for him to hand them a detention or extra homework." How about mountain camping?" They all blinked in surprise at that, not that he took any notice of their befuddlement. " One of the school's training facilities simulates a full-blown wintry mountain. There's the mountain itself, plus a forest, and even a lake for fishing. Looks to me like you all have some overlapping days off coming up, so you could head out there for a night's stay."There was a lack of response from them." What? Nobody's forcing you. You're welcome to go nowhere at all instead and enjoy counting the walls." Shrugged Aizawa and turned around about to leave. He didn't get to move two steps before Kaminari and the others shouted after him, agreeing enthusiastically." Honestly, this is nothing like you at all, Aizawa," Whisper calling the teacher so casually could never fail to enlist a flinch from Yuu as he always expected him to give the ghost a punishment or detention. However, for all he knew, Whisper could have been way older than the young man, which is probably why Aizawa never bothered to point that out. " Where the hell did that come from?"" At the faculty meeting, we discussed opening up some of the school's facilities to students for spring break. The change of pace should leave you feeling refreshed for the coming year," he answered with a shrug.The boys looked among themselves and nodded in agreement.________________A couple of days later, they were dropped by their teacher, wrapped in their coats and scarves, in front of a large dome building. Upon stepping inside, the doors locked behind them, a shiver ran down their backs and their skins prickled at the gust of cold wind that welcomed them.Before their eyes, a large white blanket of snow extended as far as they could see. One might mistake it for the North Pole.Kaminari tried to trigger a snow fight, which almost succeeded, weren't it for Bakugo who reminded them of the right setting.It was not a vacation, but survival." Right, another rational training by Aizawa." Whisper had to agree.Yuu considered their situation as Midoriya pointed out how Bakugo was a mountain climbing specialist, as it was his favorite pastime. The group agreed unanimously that their leader ought to be Bakugo, given his expertise.The blond's reaction was never what any of them expected. " Me?" Even Whisper crocked an eyebrow at that." Usually, he would be declaring himself a leader almost upon the first chance to do so, but now..."Yuu had to nod in agreement, a concerned look appearing in his eyes. " I wonder if he's alright?"Bakugo on the other hand didn't miss on throwing the jab about how useless they would be without him around.The blond split them into three groups, one for setting up the tents, another for gathering wood, and the last to find food.Yuu, Kirishima, and Whisper embarked on setting up the tents exactly where Bakugo had pointed. Kirishima had already packed the spot with his hardened Quirk, which was a piece of cake for him.It was a clear and level patch of ground, a little far from the forest, and had a few outcrops surrounding it as if a defensive line.Bakugo had chosen the place well, it was quite the best spot if one was out in the wilderness where they expect to be attacked by wild animals.Yuu pondered on that thought while he and Whisper were working on their tent. " That soldier does know what he's doing. He's not all barking and blabbering." Whisper's tone had a hint of approval." He's truly a perfectionist," Yuu mumbled as he watched the other boy skillfully erect a tent all on his own in a blink." Experience makes perfect after all," Whisper reminded him. " Let's focus on our work." And he went inside the tent to help hold it straight.After finishing their task, they headed out to offer a hand to the closest group, that being Midoriya's. Upon arrival, Yuu could see they had made a makeshift net with Sero's tape and were electrifying the fish into them." Is this really safe to eat?" Whisper wondered as he floated above the haul of writhing and twitching fish. Only to cry out in surprise when one of them jolted up and he backed. It flopped in the air and hit Bakugo right between the shoulders as he was peeking down at the river, prompting him to dive head-first into the icy water." Bakugo!" Everyone rushed out to him as his head crested the surface and Midoriya tried to offer him a hand, which eventually was ignored as the boy hauled himself up and stepped out, dripping from head to toe and his clothes drooping with the water that sogged into them.Midoriya on the other hand wasn't affected by Bakugo's reaction, for he immediately placed that hand on Bakugo's forehead. It didn't stay long there, naturally, and got smacked right away. But the brief moment of contact was all Midoriya needed to confirm a deep unsettling concern.Bakugo had a fever.It finally made sense to Yuu why he seemed tamer than usual.That somehow triggered the rest of the group as they realized their friend ought to be excused from the camping exercise, especially now that he had fallen into the water. But any means of communication with their teacher was unavailable, so Bakugo was stuck there as much as any of them.Whisper would have gone to fetch the teacher himself, weren't it for the fact that he couldn't. He was actually trapped in there too.Bakugo clearly didn't appreciate his classmates' concern for him, claiming to be able to withstand a cold with willpower alone, which made Whisper inflate himself and embark on a shouting match with the blond. " You brickhead idiot!"" Who the hell you're calling idiot, air brain!"" You! Damn maniac! Willpower alone the heck! Your body is not something to take slightly soldier!"" My body and I'm free to do whatever I do with it!"" Not on my watch you moron delinquent! You're changing into warm clothes and going straight for a long nap until those doors open! understood!" With each word, Whisper ballooned further it was all but impossible to look into his eyes without craning one's neck. As Bakugo opened his mouth to disagree, Whisper turned on the tall dark-haired boy beside him. " Sero! Do the honor!"Having done that with Mineta countless times, Sero wrapped his tape around the uncooperative Bakugo who kept shouting a long string of profanity while Kirishima hauled him on his shoulder and to the tents.He was tossed into his tent with a collection of spare clothes and hand-warmers as to keep him warm and toasty.The boys checked on him every now and then, making sure he was alright or if he needed anything at all, which only served to enrage the blond further. Yuu thought he understood why.Bakugo was someone who thought highly of himself and his Quirk that he always towered over others and looked down at them. While he might be on the path to change, he still can't consider care anything but pity and belittling, something he wasn't usually on the receiving end of." We better get working on those fish," Yuu reminded them. " It's better if he gets to eat something warm and go to sleep early."With a nod, everyone embarked on the task. Having helped countless times in Sora's house with various dishes ranging from sample sandwiches to complicated Japanese sweets, cleaning fish and grilling them was no hard feat. He still didn't put himself on the same level as either Bakugo or Sato when it came to cooking, but Yuu's skills were still stellar that the boys all but left preparing dinner for him.Their attempts at cooking during their training camp in the summer made them realize that unless extremely tired and hungry, no one would be eager to eat something they prepared.By the time the sun was dipping far behind the horizon, they were all happily munching on their food. A plate or three grilled fish was left in Bakugo's tent as he was already asleep and none wanted to deal with a grumpy feverish Bakugo.Yuu deduced the smell might wake him up in time to eat it while warm, and all of them were eager to believe it.As everyone enjoyed their meal and happily discussed camping traditions and which Quirks helped best when trying to survive in the wilderness, Yuu raised his eyes up and he was speechless for a second at the bright sky and stars before him.They were depicted to the finest detail, almost undistinguished from the real one. If he wasn't just reminded, he might have forgotten that they were still inside a large building." I have to admit that UA has some admirable talents among them, being able to create all of this." Even Whisper couldn't help but smile softly at the scenery." 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!"Whisper snorted at those words while the other seemed, rather expectant of that." We do all wish for the same thing, Kaminari-san," said Yuu.Whisper on the other hand continued with his laughter. " You know that's quite impossible for you though, for the moment you do something amazing, you will end up in your idiot mode." Before he could laugh further, Yuu jammed a ball of snow into his mouth." Don't listen to him, Kaminari-san. Personally, I think you're already awesome."Kaminari's pout dissipated only slightly. Sensing a short fuse and feeling the need to change the subject, Iida brought out an important discovery of his while he was gathering firewood." Footsteps?" They all blinked in surprise at what Iida claimed to be evidence of a large animal residing within the dome.Whisper managed to finally gag the molten snowball stack in his jaw and turned on the boy. " Are you sure? Could be something else? Maybe someone was here before us and left it." He suggested." But I spotted claw marks on trees and found bits of what seems like fur scattered around." He polled one that he had wrapped in a handkerchief.There was no doubt of it, the clump of white was unmistakably fur. That raised several eyebrows as the idea of something large and clawed, which their teacher did not see it important to inform them about, being there settled in." What's that Aizawa playing at?"" Actually, Hado-senpai told me a rumor about this place," Sero interjected. " They say the magnetic field is all out of whack somewhere in this facility. It's a place where space-time gets warped, forming a connection to other dimensions."" I heard about that too," Kirishima affirmed. " Some upperclassman said they saw something out of this world pop out..."" You don't think the fur came from an extra-dimensional beast or something?" Asked Kaminari.Before any of them could answer, they all looked at Yuu in unison and the boy blinked twice in confusion. Yet again, the boy's existence proved that there was a lot that couldn't be confirmed and that the word impossible was but limited to what they alone couldn't see or hear." Extra-dimensional huh?" Whisper rubbed his chin in thought." I do understand the magnetic field though," Yuu mumbled, earning curious looks from his friends, " it does actually meddle with spirits and tends to keep them in or out depending on its strength. That's why, turning lights on usually helps, because electricity, as energy, clashes with the spiritual energy and destabilizes them. Depending on the spirit, a bulb of light could keep them at bay. "Whisper took a look at the sky. " As for this level of field, I can't dream of breaching it unscathed. Kyubi or Thunderbird might be able to do so, but that would require some effort."" In any case," Iida pointed a hand forward. " If there's a problem with the magnetic field, we ought to verify and inform Sensei tomorrow. For now, brush your teeth and head to bed. It was a long day after all. We're up for an expedition tomorrow morning."As they stood up and attempted to check on their sick classmate, a wind picked up, and snow began to fall, coating the ground and their tents.Before any of them could appreciate it, the wind howled, cutting into their skins, and the gentle drifting snow turned into a blizzard.Complaining about it, they hastily checked on Bakugo, whom they found sound asleep with an empty plate by his side, and then fanned out towards their respective tents.Listening to the wind wailing outside and the tent's fabric flapping every time it was buffeted, Yuu's eyes grew heavier as the weariness of the whole day finally settled, and he briefly drifted to sleep. However, he was promptly jolted awake by a noise outside.A scream. One too familiar.He opened the zipper of his tent to peek out in a hurry while Whisper merely half-phased through the fabric. " What's wrong?"" I think it was Iida-kun!" Said Midoriya in a panicked voice. " He went off to find Sero-kun. I think I'd better look for them!"" Count me in," said Todoroki as he hurriedly put on his coat and boots, joined by Kaminari and Kirishima." Seijin-kun, you keep an eye on Kacchan."Yuu nodded in understanding. " Don't you want to take Whisper with you?"" It's fine, we'll be careful." Todoroki ignited a flame in his palm and they all set off towards the source of the scream.Yuu quickly drew his coat over his back and went to check on the blond. Still asleep. It was strange that he didn't stir at all hearing that scream. Usually, he was always at his sharpest and alert for any sign of danger." Yuu!" The boy turned around just in time to see a large figure stomping towards the camp, its eyes glowing within the whiteness of the blizzard. Yuu's eyes went wide as he realized danger was upon them. He had to protect himself and Bakugo.Without any wasted thought, a fire sparked into life underneath his wollen hat. Tapping on the channel between him and Kyubi, he drew forth her blue flames and surrounded them with a circle of spiritual fire that served as their defense.The large figure skirted around the walls of fire, trying to find a gap through which to strike. Yuu held his breath as he tried to keep the ring of fire.Finding itself unable to inflict any harm on the prey before it, the creature, or whatever it was, stomped away, and, in a fit of anger, flattened and flung away the tents around them. As Yuu struggled to keep on the barrier, he watched as one tent after the other was tossed in the air.After a while, he heard a shuffling noise, and the hitched breath of the angry beast faded away. But he couldn't let go, not until he heard his friends calling for him.The flames died and he sank to his knees, panting for breath. Manifesting fire larger than a whip was something he was still struggling with.Midoriya and the others rushed over to him, and apparently, the ruckus had woken Bakugo as well, who peeked outside and asked what was happening.Whisper told them about the large figure that had attacked them and Midoriya embarked on explaining from the start to Bakugo.Yuu didn't care about any of that. There was something utterly befuddling about the huge bulk that had attacked them, and Yuu couldn't point his finger on it." Finding the others is our priority." Midoriya's urgent tone drove Yuu back to reality." Where is Kaminari-san?"The three boys looked at each other before it dawned on them that they had lost their friend in the blizzard." He was there with us when we left the forest as soon as we spotted your flames!" Kirishima argued in disbelief." It doesn't matter when it happened," Bakugo groaned. " We have three people lost out there now."" Where do we look though? There is so much ground to cover." Todoroki pointed." Likely the forest, the monster needs a place to hide," his eyes widened as another idea struck him. " But if it is hunting for us, it might be lurking in wait somewhere nearby..." and then he gasped. " Maybe it hides its victims somewhere before going out in search of the rest of us. But what if it's satisfied with three victims and won't seek more?"Growing tired of Midoriya's monologues, Whisper took the lead. " Just form two groups. A group that hunts it, while the other stays in here in case it returns."They nodded. Midoriya and Bakugo stayed behind while the other three ventured back into the blizzard in search of the monster.The wind seemed to grow sharper and stronger, dithering them and impairing their vision. Even with both Yuu and Todoroki casting light, it was but hard to glimpse beyond their noses. " Hey Yuu," Whisper called out. " You think you can summon him?"Yuu blinked at that before his eyes went wide. Of course he could, their contract was that Yuu could only summon that spirit in its most favorable environment, snow. And Yuu was surrounded by miles and miles of it. Even if it was manmade, it shouldn't pose a problem." O spirit of frost and snow, heed my call and let my voice be thy guide," Yuu began to chant as he extended his arm, and a blue ball flame manifested at its end. The boy's eyes glowed as he poured his energy into the small flame. " I summon thee!"It enlarged, blocking their sight for a moment before fading away, leaving behind grey fur, and large hands and feet. Before them stood a creature double their height and much akin to a gorilla with a bludgeon of ice balanced on its shoulder. It had two horns on its head, one large and wrought while the other was broken.It gave a short nod and growl." Seijin, is this... what I think it's..." Now that the giant creature blocked the wind that was whipping in their ears, they could hear Kirishima mumble." A Yeti? Yep, he is." Yuu gave the soft fur a gentle stoke. The small eyes squinted they almost became invisible among the stacks of fur." Something is wrong!" All three of them became alert and Yeti grabbed his bludgeon tightly, threatening to smack whatever came too close.Something moved further from them with much speed that didn't befit its overwhelming size. As it towered even over Yeti, Kirishima let out a scream of shock.The monster flung its arm and stirred the snow, blinding them. Yeti proceeded to block the larger monster's advance, both of them roaring as loud as they could to intimidate the other.Todoroki and Kirishima, wasting no moment, plunged ahead and attacked with their Quirks, but the monster made a point of keeping them away.As it threw a punch, Yeti blocked it with his bludgeon and it broke while he was thrashed back. " Are you alright?" Yuu ran over to him as he struggled up, letting out a low growl." Midoriya and Bakugo are here!" Whisper shouted as the two joined the fray, albeit couldn't do much at all." We need to move as well!" Yeti growled its approval as he slammed a hand on the ground and a new bludgeon rose up with him.Todoroki tried encasing the beast in a mountain of his ice, but it broke through." We have to knock it down and make it stay down somehow," Midoriya mumbled." Easy said than done!" Whisper complained.Yuu squinted and a realization hit him. " Maybe it's easier than you think Whisper."Chunks of Todoroki's ice were hurled at them and it made to distract them from the monster that made for Midoriya.Todoroki tried to protect him with his fire but he got smacked away." Yeti!" The spirit held the bludgeon on its shoulder with its pointed end towards the monster and pelted the icicle. The feral beast broke it and swept at them. Yuu's eyes glowed as ice markings appeared on his face and he called forth a wall of ice, blocking the attack." Midoriya-san!"Midoriya jumped from behind them and hit the monster in the face, twice. A cracking sound confirmed Yuu's thoughts.Using a whip of fire, Yuu pulled Midoriya back before the large beast could smash him in between its hands.Yeti attacked again, forcing the monster away from his master and friends." Midoriya-san..." Yuu panted, wincing as he looked up at his friend, he was entirely tired and his dark circles looked terrible. " Take it to the lake..." Weakly, he pointed forward.Midoriya frowned and nodded his head before he ran at the monster drawing its attention and prompting it to follow after him. Bakugo sped right behind the two.Yuu struggled to stand up and looked at Whisper. " I might need a power-up..."Whisper smirked and nodded before diving right through the boy's chest and his eyes glowed again. " Let's do this!"The Yeti placed his master on his shoulder and this time used the large bludgeon to slide down the slope and catch up with the beast and the other two students.Bakugo and Midoriya landed their attacks and Yeti jumped off his slide, letting the large chunk of ice hit the beat in the chest as well and prompt it to fall into the lake.Yuu dropped to the ground and thrust both hands into the water. He breathed a puff of mist as his eyes glowed brighter. The glistening surface of the lake froze almost immediately.Yuu sighed deeply as he staggered back and fell onto the blanket of snow, eyes half closed. " It's over..."Whisper came out of his body, worried for his friend while Yeti growled a goodbye and faded away. " Seijin-kun!" Being the closest one there, Midoriya, and surprisingly Bakugo, went to check on him.He waved a weak sign at them as if to say he was alright, but he doubted so as suddenly he could no longer hear the blizzard and the night sky shifted into a clear one. It took a moment for his mind to link the dots. " Ah... Aizawa-sensei..."" Midoriya, Seijin, and Bakugo get credit for that one. Good work."The two boys blinked in surprise at the announcement, Whisper turned red and was on the verge of vaporizing, and Yuu heaved a tired sigh. " It was another test... the monster wasn't a living one... it had no soul..."" AIZAWA!!" Yuu found no strength to stop the wraith so he let him continue to shout at the sky.The rest of their classmates caught up, each of them brooding over their loss against the beast.As Aizawa instructed them to write a report about their experience when they got back, Yuu badly wanted to drift back to sleep." You'll be provided with new tents 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."" Okay."" Seijin? Do you want to leave as well?"" I'll just fall asleep here if none of you don't mind," he mumbled half asleep." I do mind!" Iida rebuked. " Sleeping outside is no good! You'll catch your death!"Albeit the boy was already out." It can't be helped. We'll have to take him back." Whisper shook his head." Leave that to me!" Kirishima announced proudly as he hauled another classmate on his shoulder. Bidding the other two goodnight, the rest of them returned to the camp...________________The doors to the dorms flung open, letting in their class, all in different assortments of clothes, ranging from the bartender Iida to the white soccer jersey Sora was sporting along with a soccer ball under her arm." This was," Sora flopped down onto the sofa and nailed the soccer ball into an empty clothes basket with a skillful throw. " The worst day of my life!"" You bet it was!" Everyone tiredly shuffled over to the elevator, eager to be over with the costumes they were wearing.Yuu sank by her side, undoing the white scarf that he wrapped around his neck as part of his costume. Somehow, Yuu was the only one whose costume didn't differ much from his usual hero costume, which consisted mostly of an oversized black clock, a black and golden shirt, and large white pants." Why," he sighed, " should it be us?"" Because the Business Course should learn to work with heroes, and we're the closest example they could use." Sora leaned her head back tiredly." That doesn't give the right to humiliate us like that!" The boy tried to hide behind his hands. " Those Promo Vids were very..."" Cringy!" Sora said bluntly. " Yeah, true. But I guess that's how a first attempt goes."" Your videos were acceptable though," Whisper pointed. " I mean, the soccer player hero; Sorano, and the friendship hero; Yuujin weren't such bad concepts. You even had a chance along the magical girls' concept."Yuu didn't seem to like that at all. " I had to play the role of a hero who saw his friends fall before him one by one and used the power of friendship to beat the villain and then befriend him." Yuu hid under the hood of his cloak as he recalled the video of all of his spirits lying motionless on the ground while he shook hands and smiled at the villain actor." That kid must have watched too much Fairy Tail," Sora sighed deeply, tugging at her jersey. " And you can bet mine was an Inazuma Eleven hardcore fan. Look at the emblem, it's a lighting ball. And my super attack that took the enemies swarming the stadium was Fire Tornado!" She threw her hands in exasperation." Gomu-san had the best video so far," Yuu peeked from underneath the sheet of blackness. " The Chef Hero; Cook was a good concept. And despite being an imitation of Lunch Rush, he managed to make his own video look original. The effects and camera moves were impeccable. That one is a pro in editing."Sora blinked as she remembered something. " Dobotsu-chan on the other hand..."Whisper rubbed his chin. " It was Pet Hero; Poppy right? That didn't make sense since she played the role of a puppy defending its owner!" He shook his head." What I'm worried about is the leash though," Sora sweated. " Wasn't it a bit too much? They even made her wear it on the stage."" If they didn't do that, she might have wandered off the stage while the ad was playing." Neither of them could argue Whisper's point." For better or worse, it wasn't you guys who ended up embarrassed the most," Whisper snorted. " It's those business kids."" Well," Yuu stood up. " That was the last trial for us as first years. Might as well swallow it and move on."Sora sprang up as well at those words. " Oh right! The spring is almost over!" She recalled the small buds of the cherry trees they had spotted on their way back. " We're almost second years! Can't wait for the new year!"" Hope it won't be as hard as our first," Yuu said with an awkward smile. However, his eyes trailed over to the clear sky of the evening. "... It was fun though."Sora smiled gently as they walked over to the window, basking in the sun's rays. " Yeah, it was."Before they realized, Whisper held their hands together and placed his on them. " And it will be even more fun next year."The three of them beamed at each other.It will...Or...It was supposed to be...