𝔣𝔦𝔣𝔱𝔢𝔢𝔫

word count: 1798

The morning brings a horde of sleepy-eyed students following the smell of canned beans. I run a hand through my bedhead as I dig in to the beans.

Kacchan takes a seat next to me on the wooden camp benches.

"Hi Kacchan."

"Hey, nerd," he grunts between mouthfuls of food.

I watch him out of the corner of my eye, my heart squeezing.

He glances up from his food, demanding, "What're you looking at, scum?!"

"N-nothing!" I say hurriedly.

"OKAY, KIDS!" Present Mic stands up at the head of the teacher's table. "The first Camp Challenge is..." he pauses for dramatic emphasis. "Canoeing!"

Most of the students are too tired to respond enthusiastically, but a few make an effort to applaud.

"You'll be in teams of four to a canoe," Vlad King explains. "To win, you have to make it across the river first with all of your team members still intact. You can not jump out of the canoe and swim to shore. Also, quirks are allowed to help your canoe along but you can't use them on each other. Now, finish eating, get dressed, and come over to the dock in five minutes."

I finish up my food and follow my male classmates back to our lodgings. Grabbing a pair of khaki shorts and an All Might t-shirt from my duffel bag, I get dressed quickly and make my way down to the lake.

Aizawa-sensei has emerged from his sleeping bag and is sipping from a gigantic mug of coffee while he hands out bright orange life vests. I line up to take one.

"Are these mandatory?" Mina asks.

"Yes," he responds.

"Aww, they're not very cute," she pouts.

"Safety isn't cute."

I pull the life vest over my head but it resists. I forgot to untie it and now it won't go over my head. "It's stuck," I say to no one in particular, my voice muffled by the lumpy vest over my face.

"Idiot," I hear a deep voice growl before a pair of hands tug it over my head roughly.

"Oh. Thanks, Kacchan," I say to my rescuer, adjusting it to sit on my shoulders comfortably.

Then I glance over to him, and I swear, I forget how to breath for a minute. His impeccably-toned arms look so strong... and as he lifts his arms to shrug on the life vest, his black tank top rides up to reveal a strip of muscled stomach. He catches my eye and I blush like a maniac.

"Oi, Deku," he smirks. "Take a picture, it'll last longer,"

I stutter like a complete idiot for a moment, before realising that I've lost all literacy. I shut my mouth and turn away, positive that I'm cherry red.

"ALRIGHT!!" Mic shrieks, calling our attention to where he stands on the dock, hands pointed in the air excitedly. "Choose your team mates! Two pairs of camp buddies! The whole point of this is Class A versus Class B, so choose a pair from your class!"

"We're together, then," says Kacchan. "Lets try not to get partners who are completely useless."

I'm still rendered speechless, so I mutely lag behind him as he seeks out our counterpart.

"Midoriya-kun, Iida-kun and I will be your partners?" Todoroki asks me as Kacchan stomps away.

I can't imagine Kacchan will want to pair up with either of them... he'd call Iida 'stiff' and he can't stand Todoroki. I am about to respond when Kacchan stomps back over to me, accompanied by Kaminari and Kirishima.

"I've already got a team, so move it, Half n Half," he snaps.

Todoroki walks away without another word.

"Midoriya-kun!" Kirishima fist-bumps me.

I awkwardly return the gesture. "Hi, Kirishima-kun, Kaminari-kun" I respond. Yes, hello vocabulary, I see you've decided to join me again.

"I am so touched that Bakubaku wanted us on his team," Kaminari clutches a hand to his heart dramatically.

"Shut it, Dunce-face."

"So, man," Kirishima slaps Bakugo on the back, earning himself a glare. "What's the plan of attack?"

"We fucking beat everyone, but primarily shitty 1-B," he orders us; a natural leader.

"Cool," Kaminari clicks finger-guns at Kacchan. "LOL, I'm just wondering how to row a canoe..."

Kacchan's hair literally stands on end as he fires a string of insults at Kaminari. "GOD, ARE YOU FUCKING STUPID?! AND WHO SAYS 'LOL' OUT LOUD?! WHY ARE YOU EVEN ON MY FUCKING TEAM?!"

"Dude, chill," Kaminari responds, unfazed. "I'm on your team because you didn't want Midoriya-kun to be with Todoroki-kun."

"SHUT UP RIGHT NOW IF YOU WANT TO LIVE TO SEE MIND-FUCK EVER AGAIN!" Kacchan thunders.

I stare at the scene unfolding in front of me, feeling like I'm having an out of body experience... Kacchan doesn't want me to be with Todoroki? Is he... maybe... no...

Kirishima glances over to me, and noting my shocked expression, says, "Oh, Midoriya, you didn't reali—"

"Shut your mouth, shitty hair," Kacchan growls, cutting him off.

"Sorry, man," says Kirishima, making a zipped-lip motion.

A bundle of thoughts bounces around the walls of my skull but I have no time to process them because Kacchan's instructing us on our formation.

"Shitty Hair and Dunce Face, you're on the oars. Deku, watch the rear, and I'll go up the front. I can use my quirk to give us a boost if needed." He stomps over to edge of the lake where a yellow canoe is tethered to the dock.

We follow after him, the gravel crunching beneath my crimson shoes as it slopes down to the water's edge.

"Get in, nerds," he commands, sitting up the front, Kirishima behind him.

Kaminari laughs nervously as he takes a seat behind Kirishima. "I really have no idea how to row this thing."

"I can swap places with you," I offer.

"No!" Kacchan snaps. "That doesn't work with the plan!"

"What difference does it make who watches the rear?" I argue.

He exhales through his teeth. "Quirks."

"Huh?" asks Kaminari. "What did you want me to do with mine, because electricity near water is pretty dangerous..."

"Not yours, Dunce face!"

Realisation dawns on me, my brain making the connection. "Kacchan... you wanted me to use my quirk to smash the water for a boost and to push back the others, right?"

"Took you long enough, nerd!"

"Bro, why couldn't you just tell Midoriya that?" Kirishima says. "You really need to get over the fact that he's got a cool quirk."

Kacchan hisses at Kirishima and snaps his head to the front, crossing his arms huffily.

"He's like a bratty child," Kaminari stage-whispers.

I stifle a laugh with my hand.

"IF EVERYONE IS READY, WE'LL START!!" Present Mic screams from the dock.

"Dude, please tone it down," Kirishima mutters. "I'll be deaf by my third year of this school."

Mic evidently doesn't hear him. "ALRIGHT! FIRST TEAM ACROSS THE RIVER WINS! ON YOUR MARKS, GET SET... GOOOOO!"

Kirishima rows the canoe with all of his might, while Kaminari makes an attempt at tiny paddles.

"Pikachu! That half-assed rowing isn't gonna get you anywhere! Put some back in it!" Kacchan yells from the front of the boat.

I feel a little useless waiting at the back of the canoe. "Kacchan, when do you want me to—"

"Save it for the end!" he snaps.

So, a surprise boost, I think. "Okay!" To myself, I allow a little smile. Even though it's probably killing him, he's acknowledging that I have a quirk, and he's allowing me to help him.

"Behind you!" a voice calls haughtily. I watch as Kendo, Yanagi, Monoma, and Tetsutetsu from class B glide past our canoe. "In front of you," Monoma sing-songs as his team passes us.

"Damn you, shitty Copycat!" Kacchan shouts, jutting out his chin angrily. He shoots a series of bursts from his hands and they serve as slight propulsion. "Argh!" he screams.

Snatching the paddle from Kaminari, he dips it into the water and makes long, graceful strokes to send us sailing through the water and overtaking the other boat.

"Ha! Later, fuckers!" Kacchan shouts.

Kaminari cackles gleefully and holds both hands in the air, middle fingers up.

"Woohoo!" I exclaim happily.

"We're gonna fucking win!" Kacchan screams.

"Yahhh!" Kirishima yells above the sound of the water swishing.

But our victory appears to be short-lived as a frigid blast of wind blows over us... "Todoroki-kun!" I cry.

Their canoe is gliding through a stream of water, bordered by a sharp wall of ice floating on either side of them.

"Sorry, Midoriya-kun!" he responds as he passes us.

"DAMN IT, HALF N HALF!" Kacchan yells.

"Ah! How did they get more oars!" Kaminari cries.

Todoroki's team consists of himself, Iida, Yaoyorozu and Jirou. "Yaoyorozu must've made them!" I point out.

"We're not gonna win! They're nearly there!" Kaminari panics.

"Kacchan—"

"Do it now, Deku!"

I form a fist and focus on channeling One For All into the tip of my finger. Leaning over the back of the canoe, I bring my arm back into the air before smashing it with all the force I can muster into the water.

The result is an explosion of water droplets flying into the air as a gigantic wave-like force erupts from where I hit the water, sending us ricocheting past Todoroki's boat. The sheer force of the smash is enough to lift the rear of the boat almost a foot out of the water.

"YES!" Kirishima and Kaminari cheer.

Dangling at the rear of the canoe, I'm going to fall out. "K-kacchan!" I cry.

"I've got you," he grabs me by the legs and wrenches me back into the boat just as it slides to a stop on the gravelly river bank.

"YOOHOO! We won!" Kaminari screams, vaulting out of the boat and onto the land.

"Yay! Great job, everyone!" Kirishima cheers.

"HA! Take that, bitches!" Kacchan whoops.

I climb out of the canoe and collapse onto the ground tiredly. Examining my hand, I see that it is, miraculously, unharmed.

Kacchan plops down next to me on the gravelly ground. "Is your hand okay?"

"What? Oh, yeah!" I hold it up to him and flex my fingers. "All good," I beam.

He looks away from me and stares out to the lake, where other teams are pulling up to claim their places. The water laps at the toes of my shoes.

"Um—"

"I—"

"Sorry, you start," I laugh softly.

"Are you dating Icyhot?" he demands.

"No!" I respond a little too quickly. "I thought we cleared that up already?"

"Fine," he huffs and stands up abruptly.

And I'm left with a tiny shred of hope for us.