Chapter 74 - Hunters

Much to my surprise, the audience loved my 'cocky, confident teenageer' act.

The #SoloRingerOfYuei had remained a top US trend for four full days, and thousands of video montages of my performance at the games had been made, flooding Tiktok with my presence. Fan accounts had sprung up all over the social networking sites, and some had even appeared on TV.

'Does he has an Instagram? Somebody please link him, he's fine as hell'.

'Je vais à la salle depuis deux ans mais ce type a plus de cul que moi'

'I don't know if you know this, but #ShotoTodoroki single-handedly smoked all the students in his class'[Video Link]

'Я люблю Тодороки, пожалий женись на мне!'

I scrolled down and saw the videos with hundreds of thousands of likes.

There was music in the background and then we saw me emerging from the tunnel with my flames propelling me; zoom in on my face as I emerged from a cloud of mist, exhaling a cloud of smoke after using my ice quirk. Wide shot of me walking calmly in time to the music in the arena I'd turned into a river of cement.

It ends with me taking my medal from All Might and awarding myself.

- Damn, you've been watching your shitty videos for an hour, won't you stop?!

I looked up at Bakugo sitting to my left, furiously scrolling on his phone. I leaned over his shoulder to see a familiar head of hair.

- My videos have even reached Katsuki Bakugo's oh-so-unique for you page?

Bakugo scrolled quickly, but the next three videos were about me, too: he closed the application in exasperation and crossed his arms over his chest, ignoring me.

I stifled a laugh ; a throbbing vein appeared on his forehead.

- Shoto and Katsuki, Aizawa warned in a low voice at the other end of the bus.

The other students were fast asleep; the human bomb and I were the only ones still awake, and given the chaos of the first two hours of the trip, Aizawa must have really wanted no one to wake up because of us.

I pretended not to hear him when Bakugo - who had reopened one eye - exhaled loudly.

- This guy has superhuman hearing or something, he muttered.

- We've moved to the back of the bus, and even now he can hear us.

Bakugo, like the responsible delegate he was, had counted the students and forced them to spread out on the bus to "keep the troublemakers away from each other", as he put it.

Then, since there wasn't really any more room, he had been forced to sit next to me; since he hadn't made a scene, I had concluded that he didn't mind, and since he spoke to me out of the blue, I could tell that he enjoyed my company. Or that he hated me less than the average person. Hard to tell with him.

Bakugo turned back to my laptop, where the video of my self-awarded medal was looping.

- You're adored by hundreds of strangers and hated by half the class. Look for the logic.

He was calm now, speaking without shouting like a sow.

- Thousands of strangers, I corrected him. And frankly, their opinion (I shrugged, turning to him). And it's the same for you, isn't it ? The part hated by half our class, I mean. Not the adored bit.

He narrowed his eyes, glanced sideways at me, and added:

- You put half the students in the hospital and people talk about you like you're the Messiah.

He was perplexed: I could see it in his furrowed brow and his riveted attention to my screen.

- That's the thing: If I had just blustered and gotten crushed, I would have been remembered as the arrogant son of the Number 2. But since I lived up to it and more, people loved it (Katsuki was listening intently, surprisingly.) We both know that everything I did was morally questionable for a future hero, but people didn't care.

I tapped the screen several times with my finger to emphasize my words.

- If you have the skills to back up your ambition, you'll see that no one will ever find anything wrong with it : confidence and power command everyone's respect.

Katsuki studied me for a few seconds, then let out an 'hmm', turned away and put his headphones into his ears, signaling the end of the conversation.

I sighed briefly and returned to my screen, unable to stop looking at the edits.

Who the hell am I kidding ?

Even my 4K video supremacy couldn't distract me from the horror of my existence : I was on a poor people's bus, surrounded by rednecks who could only afford to shower once a day.

My superhuman sense of smell picked up the scent of perfume and cheap deodorant with an ease worthy of the greatest : as a result, I was condemned to smell poverty for the rest of the trip.

I can't believe Aizawa wouldn't let me ride my motorcycle.

A story about a secret destination or something like that.

Still, I was grateful to Kenzei and... well, I was grateful to be wearing a mask.

The smells were a little less strong with it on, but that was still something.

My eyes returned to the screen as I scrolled through the hashtags.

Still, I could admit that if there was one thing to appreciate about being a hero, it was the fans:

Nothing better than people bored enough with their own lives to make (epic, no less) video montages of you.

I understand how the old man developed a superiority complex in his twenties.

I'd seen videos of his interviews, and I can say without exaggeration that my ego is nothing compared to his in his prime.

Fortunately, fatherhood has mellowed him - or so he tells me. As far as I'm concerned, he's just aged a lot.

The bus hit a pothole and shook for a moment; the bag Aizawa-sensei was holding at his side bumped against his seat before falling open slightly.

My eyes automatically landed on the metallic object glinting between a pile of tangled ropes.

Aizawa hurriedly picked up his bag and I looked away, pretending to concentrate on my screen.

*

A bus ride at dawn on a Monday morning wasn't my favorite thing in the world, but there were worse things.

And the view wasn't that bad.

- I didn't even know there was a desert in Japan.

Kirishima whistled admiringly to my left, his eyes lost in the vast expanse of sand that stretched for miles in front of us.

Golden dunes shimmered in the sunshine of a beautiful summer morning, the sky a perfect azure, not a cloud in sight, and beyond that, a sparkling sea stretched as far as the eye could see.

Yuei really does have the means to afford having part of Japan's coastline as private land - not to mention the amenities such a place must have. A miniature desert requires a budget.

- You should ask yourself why Aizawa stopped the bus, I replied.

He didn't do it even once in four hours, even when Uraraka told him that she might piss herself at any moment.

The driver was categorically denied the only cigarette break he requested. It must have been like being held hostage, since the law requires a bus driver to take a ten-minute break every two hours.

Kirishima gave me a sheepish smile, then scratched his cheek.

- Really ? It's true I slept most of the trip, I just thought I missed the breaks

- Very perceptive, Todoroki, Monoma complimented me as he came in unexpectedly from who knows where. Have you noticed anything else interesting ?

I looked him right in the eye.

Yes, for example the fact that Aizawa looked at his watch for the eighth time in less than three minutes, which means he's waiting for some kind of signal about what's going to happen next.

It's been over fourteen minutes and twelve seconds since Ochaco went to the toilet, and that's a long time, even if she has diarrhea.

My potential class traitor suspect has distanced himself from the group and is currently taking a ton of selfies from so many different angles that it will be anything but difficult for whoever he's sending them to to figure out where we are.

We've been on the bus for over an hour now, and I haven't seen a single building or sign of human civilization for miles, even with my superhuman eyesight : if we get attacked by vilains here, it's clear that at least 60% of you will be dead or seriously injured within the hour before help arrives.

I looked away.

- Nothing in particular, no : I was just paying attention to the only notable event of the day, that's all

Monoma studied me for a few more long seconds, smiling that huge, twisted smile that never left his lips, before his attention was drawn to Bakugo, who was contemplating the distance between the road and the desert below.

- Yo, Bakugo !

He approached him with long strides and slapped him on the back so hard that he barely missed throwing him over the security fence.

The blond grabbed him by the collar of his T-shirt and shook him, clearly not pleased.

- I know I shouldn't say this about a fellow comrade, but Monoma really is strange.

- ... Yeah

Aizawa intervened when Bakugo threatened to turn Monoma into a barbecue.

- Well done on winning the championship, by the way.

Kirishima rubbed his neck and smiled nervously at me, as if he was afraid I'd get angry.

- ...okay?

It happened last Thursday, and I didn't understand why he brought it up now.

- I mean, I should have congratulated you earlier, because you deserve it, but it's just that I was a bit troubled at the time (Since I couldn't see what he was getting at, he continued to explain:) You know, since you were a bit intense and you sent Inaza and a good number of students to the infirmary. ... (he turned red, shook his hands) I'm not saying you're violent, but your behavior wasn't very heroic, and we're in Yuei, so I thought it would be strange to congratulate you for sending half of our class to the hospital…

- Don't justify yourself

I wasn't expecting congratulations from anyone in the class, so I didn't even understand why he was so worked up about not doing it.

- No, I thought it over, and I was wrong: you won the championship fair and square, and I shouldn't have judged your methods.

Oh. I see.

Does the end justify the means ?

For Kirishima, it was clear that it didn't.

- Let's move on, shall we?

The apology really meant a lot to him, judging by the huge smile that lit up his face. Personally, I didn't care, but if it shut him up...

Aizawa - who had been dragging Bakugo by the collar of his shirt - let go of him when he reached me.

- Shoto, keep an eye on him.

- Do I look like a nanny?

The professor gave me a sideways glance as he climbed the stairs to the bus.

- Make sure he doesn't pick on any other students while I get what we need, or you'll be cleaning the communal bathrooms for the duration of our trip.

I was already dragging Bakugo by his shirt when he got into another fight with a random student in our class.

I had initially hoped that the fact that he semi-regularly engaged in (one-sided) screaming contests with the other students in the class would render his vocal cords null and void, but it seems I was wrong :

- Tell me, are you Mic-sensei's hidden son?

He temporarily stopped yelling.

- Huh ?

- Forget it

Aizawa climbed down from the bus, a glass jar full of papers under his elbow.

He looked even deader than usual, with his ten-meter-long dark circles under his eyes, his unshaven beard, and his hair with strands sticking out here and there.

Isn't the clean-cut, irreproachable uncle just a facade he's putting on for his family ? Because the role of the homeless man suits him so well, I'm beginning to have doubts.

- Everyone, come here (He gestured for everyone to come closer) Hurry up, we haven't got all day.

Everyone gathered around him in a rough semicircle.

Monoma, a little to the left, leaned over slightly to take a look at Aizawa-sensei's bag; he raised an eyebrow, then nodded, seeming to agree with the idea of what was inside.

I pretended to concentrate on Aizawa, but saw out of the corner of my eye that Aoyama continued to take selfies at the back of the group. Judging by the angle of the camera, you could only see part of the students, the teacher, and the desert in the background.

Track us will be really easy for the league.

- Aoyama, I hope you aren't sending these photos to anyone.

The blond man gasped and slowly turned to our teacher.

- ...it was just a memory to remind me how wonderful this trip was.

Aizawa narrowed his eyes for a split second, so fast that I would have missed it if I hadn't been looking, before he resumed his nonchalant attitude.

Oh ?

- Okay, everyone put your cell phones here.

He pushed a plastic box with his foot in the general direction of our group.

- Seriously, Aizawa-sensei ?

- We're in the middle of nowhere, we're clearly-

- Don't make me come and get them myself

A line of annoyed teenagers formed at the checkout, each one depositing his or her cell phone with varying degrees of regret.

- Sorry, am I late ?

A breathless Uraraka ran out of the woods. Twigs and leaves were stuck in her messy hair, her clothes were crumpled : I would have liked to look at her peasant costume in ostensible disgust, but something else caught my attention.

Aoyama tossed a glittering blue-shelled phone into the trash can and shuffled off, dejected.

Next came Bakugo, who-

- Is that my dad on this?

I stifled my laughter behind my hand as Bakugo turned red in a quarter of a second.

- My last case broke and they had nothing left but this shitty thing... He tried to justify himself and got angry when he saw that I didn't believe him for a second.

- Do you want an autograph while we're at it? I'm just his son, but shouldn't that count for something ?

Katchan balled his fists, a vein in his neck throbbing.

- I don't want your old man's two-bit signature !

- There's nothing to be ashamed of, Bakugo-san, Inaza exclaimed with a smile. I too have great admiration for Endeavor-sama!

He pointed proudly at his own phone, where there was a wallpaper of my father at twenty-five... shirtless ?

I blinked. Slowly.

- ...now that is just shady

Bakugo nodded slowly, his eyes narrowing.

- It's his eyebrows, they make him evil.

Aizawa grabbed Inaza's phone, obviously annoyed.

- I said move, not talk.

He held out his hand to Uraraka, the last person who had not handed over her cell phone.

She handed him the pink phone, which he placed firmly with the others before closing the box in front of us.

- I hope everyone has turned in their cell phones and other electronic devices; if not, I suggest you do so now (silence). Now, the first person I see with a cell phone or any other communication device in their hands in the next month will be expelled and will be the subject of a criminal investigation.

There were a few weirded out laughs - Iida himself had a brief, slightly nervous laugh, eyebrows slightly furrowed, obviously struggling to decide whether he was joking or not.

- What are you laughing at ? Don't laugh. There's nothing funny.

Aizawa-sensei or how to kill the mood in 0.3 Seconds.

Denki leaned over to Kirishima and whispered:

- Isn't that how horror movies usually start ?

- Yes, except that it mostly takes place in forest and the guide is always the killer, Séro added just as quietly.

Shit, wasn't there some kind of evil cannibal in the forest in the original summer camp ?

My memories of the cannon were fading, but that guy had left a lasting impression on me.

- In this jar (Aizawa knocked on it with his phalanges) are your names. I'm going to call you two by two and you have to form a group with your partner behind me.

He drew the first two:

- Tenya and Kaminari.

The bespectacled teenager rushed up behind the teacher, standing as tall as a pillar.

Denki's shoulders slumped as he shuffled his feet towards his partner : Sero mocked him openly and the blonde gave him the finger, which he hid behind his back, something Aizawa couldn't see.

- Let's hurry, we don't have all day (He took two more names). Uraraka and Aoyama (then) Kirishima and Séro…

The two boys high fived in delight.

He continued to call out the pairs while I mentally counted the number of papers left and the number of people not grouped. There was a problem: three papers for three people were missing.

Assuming that Inaza (who was walking around with casts on his arms) wouldn't participate in whatever physical activity was coming up, there were still two students left out.

Unless it's voluntary ? That would be an appointed squad...

With 8 groups formed behind him, Aizawa turned to them and began handing out ropes to each of them.

- Tie yourselves together, no matter how you do it, but make sure it's solid; you must return with the rope at the end of the test.

Kirishima turned a hesitant finger to the teacher's back.

- Uh, Sensei, I think you've forgotten about Todoroki and Bakugo.

Aizawa brushed his remark aside with a gesture.

- I'll take care of it, just keep tying each other up.

Bakugo watched Aizawa coming towards us, much calmer than usual.

- You two, come here.

He pulled us away from the group; the students gave us curious looks, but continued to tie each other up (Iida squeezed the rope connecting him to Denki so hard that... wait, did he just make a tourniquet ?)

Aizawa approached us and grabbed our wrists before a loud 'click' sounded.

Bakugo watched the handcuffs binding us for a few seconds, unable to figure out if our teacher had actually done what he had done.

I was surprised myself, not expecting events to take this turn.

When I saw the handcuffs fall out of his bag this morning, I just thought that he had a weird kink.

- Why don't they have handcuffs?

Bakugo was as calm as a lake; that didn't bode well.

- Because I don't trust your little friend here enough not to run away as soon as I give the go ahead (Aizawa gave me a look that spoke volumes), and no one else here will be able to go through the ordeal with you as a teammate without me worrying that you'll kill him by accident. Or on purpose.

- Hey, what do you take me for?

Bakugo started to move, shaking me with his sudden gestures.

- Stop moving

- Don't talk to me, it's your fault we're in this shitty position !

- My fault ? Our teacher literally just told you that he thinks you're a murderer in the making, and it's my fault that we've reached this point ?

Bakugo raged, foaming at the mouth.

Don't tell me he has rabies ?

Poor caught diseases like flies are drawn to light.

- Tell me, Bakugo, have you ever been bitten by a raccoon ?

It must have thought I was making fun of it, because it tried to disembowel me.

I fought back, but it was no use because our wrists were glued together.

Aizawa rubbed the bridge of his nose and murmured in a low voice:

- Nezu and his ingenious plans…

All my attention was on our teacher.

- Nezu ? Did the headmaster decide that?

Even Bakugo (whose face I crushed to prevent him from biting me like the angry beast he was) stopped gesticulating when he heard him:

- Why would he do that?

I have a better question: for what purpose ?

Aizawa took a few seconds to formulate his answer:

- There's a mouse, and we need hunters; it seems the headmaster thought that your... duo would be the most likely to catch it.

Bakugo blinked : my eyes squinted.

- Is this going to be some kind of giant hide-and-seek?

- That's right, Bakugo. Your goal is to flush out as many mice as possible before they reach the finish line.

Aizawa gave me a sidelong glance.

- ...none of the mice knows it's a mouse; come to me at the end of the test with your information and I'll tell you whether you managed to flush one out or not.

I remained silent as Bakugo grew impatient:

- What do you mean, no mouse knows it's a mouse ?

Aizawa's eyes took on a darker shade.

- You have to flush it out and above all - above all - not get caught. (Then, as a second thought, he added:) If you succeed, it's an extra point on your overall score.

Bakugo straightened abruptly when he heard him.

- If you get caught…

He handed me a gun with a red distress signal.

- Activate it and the game is over.

I nodded.

- And I guess none of the students know that we're not playing the same game as them, right ?

Aizawa nodded in agreement.

- If that is the case, then the game is already over.

Bakugo listed all the rules again to make sure he hadn't missed anything:

- Follow the others, gather information and repeat everything to you at the end; don't get caught and if you do, activate the emergency signal. Don't tell the other students that you have are playing another game. If you win, you get an extra point on your end term grade. If you lose, the game is over.

Aizawa confirmed everything he'd said.

- Think of it as training for infiltration missions: get sensitive information without getting caught and then return to base. Any questions?

Since there were none, Aizawa made us return to the group with him.

- Listen carefully, I'll lay down the rules of the game: ten kilometers separate us from the beach in a straight line. It's 11:15 a.m., and you have until 5 p.m. sharp to get there; I don't care how you get there, but none of you are allowed to leave the beach for the duration of the event. Those of you who arrive after the deadline will be penalized. Speed is of the essence, and you'll be graded on how long it takes you to get there. There may be more than one A, so don't get discouraged. Any questions ?

The invisible girl raised her hand.

- Aizawa-sensei, if we forgot our picnic at home, does that mean we won't be able to eat all day ?

- That means your partner will have to share his with you. You have two minutes to go and get it from your bags, those who left it on the bus.

The students divided into groups, some talked and others climbed back on the bus: many forgot that they were tied with ropes, and the one who had tied the tightest knots (Iida) almost fell at every turn.

Aizawa came back to us and spoke in a low voice:

- You can't see it from here because of the sand dunes, but there's a kind of oasis about three kilometers from here: most of the teams will want to take a break there, and that's where you'll get the most chances - statistically - of finding your mice. So don't waste any time and get there first.

- We're going to smoke those rats !

Bakugo had reached a new level of excitement, black smoke spewing from his palms.

- You can count on us

Aizawa nodded grimly before walking away.

I wonder how he feels about entrusting a mission of this magnitude to two teenagers who aren't even sure if they know what they're doing.

From a strategic point of view, it was an excellent idea: using students already in the race was much less suspicious than introducing a couple of random heroes around whom the mice would be more wary.

On the other hand, it was risky: who would send teenagers into battle like that ?

If we get caught and the mouse is too suspicious, Yuei could end up with two more dead teenagers on his hands.

… wait, does my old man know about this ?

- Ready for the rat hunt ?

Bakugo slammed his fist into his palm, causing an explosion: his lips stretched into that huge, toothy grin I'd come to know so well.

I turned to the horizon, where we would spend the next six hours:

- We'll make mincemeat out of them

*

Author's note :

Pay close attention everyone.

This chapter is when things start getting real.

(Also the unusual longer of the chapter is due to the fact that it was supposed to be a 2 in 1 chapter, meaning I would have not posted friday to compensate, but as I posted it like that on P@treon I decided to do the same here.)

Power stones goal : 250

If you want to support me/read ahead of schedule up to 50 chapters, you can do so on my P@treon, Nar_cisseENG

See you in the next update !