Monoma Neito and you had always been rivals, nothing more, and nothing less. While you played with toys as a child, he was the kid that would come over and pull at your hair, or snap up your toys and run away. Attending the same schools, mutual clas...
The weather's hot and humid by the time the bus arrives at the destination, a small but welcoming camp named Shiketsu Summer Camp. There are already a few campers on-site when your class arrives, but they don't seem too interested in conversing with you all, sparing you all short and cold glances.
Monoma and you walk by side as you pull out your suitcases and engage in small talk, wondering what mischiefs and adventures you could do at the camp. The camp's ground is sprawling with soft and vibrant green grass and a few feet ahead of you, there are two rows of wooden cabins: and a campfire in the center of cabins. Palm trees sway above you as the wind gently blows, and you hope a coconut won't fall on your head. The few campers are running around, some of them carrying volleyballs while others are decked in swimsuits. And far, far ahead of the cabins, you can see the camp's lake, shining brightly under the sun.
''Welcome to Shiketsu Summer Camp." Vlad King's voice is gruff as usual and he beckons all of you to follow him into the camp.
"We have two rows of cabins: one row is for Class 3A, and the other is for Class 3B. I want 3A to take the cabins on the left, and 3B to take the ones on the right. At four o'clock, I want everyone around the campfire, Aizawa and I will take you all to the cafeteria." Everyone's murmuring and taking in the surroundings, and your shoulders slightly slump when you hear that you'll be assigned with your class, meaning Monoma won't be in the same row of cabins as you.
"Oh well," he glances at you. "Don't worry. We'll figure something out.''
You nod, wondering why you feel genuinely disappointed at the sudden turn of events. And you wonder what Monoma is to you- a friend? Now that you've known him for years, you'd think he's your friend, but you're not sure if the blonde would agree.
But before you can contemplate the topic further into detail, Mina Ashido, one of your classmates, is quick to greet you and pull you away from Monoma, who you quickly wave goodbye before following the pink-haired girl.
''Hey! Tsuyu told you to bring you along, we're gonna be in the same cabin! Uraraka's gonna be there too, so I'm sure we're going to have a blast!" She's blabbering with excitement, arms and hands flying in joyful movements and you can only smile and nod along until you reach the doorstep of your cabin.
You spend the next few hours unpacking your suitcases, setting up your stuff on the bunk bed, and chatting with the girls. Once it's time to meet up with the others, the four of you head towards the campfire, where some of your classmates are already sitting. There's some loud chattering and you can spot Aizawa and Senjiro approaching you all, but in the meanwhile, you decide to look for a familiar blonde head. Within a few seconds, you spot Monoma within the crowd, sitting next to Tetsutetsu and Kendo, chatting animatedly. It almost feels like you've been zapped when he looks up and meets your eyes, shooting you a smile. He beckons you to sit with him, and you quickly say goodbye to your friends before walking over to the blonde.
You take a seat on the log next to him, his shoulders brushing against yours.
"Hey," Monoma greets you. "How's your cabin so far?''
''It's okay," you nod and wring your hands together. "Tsuyu, Uraraka, Mina, and I all fit together comfortably, so I don't have any complaints. What about yours?"
The boy groans, tilting his head back before shaking it. "I got the worst bunkmates, ever. I'm sharing the cabin with Tetsutetsu, Kosei, and Yosetsu. And I mean, they're okay, but do you have any idea how loud they'll be together?" He sighs dramatically, and you watch him with amusement. "I'm not going to get any sleep.''
''Poor you," you coo sarcastically. "Suffering in a small, tight cabin.''
He's about to reply enthusiastically, but once he realizes the sarcastic tone in your words and the devious gleam in your eyes, he scoffs and crosses his arms.
''Whatever. Anyway, do you know what we're going to do? They said this trip is educational, so I'm guessing they're gonna make us do something.''
You groan, shaking your head. ''Don't remind me. I came here in hopes of relaxing, not doing more schoolwork." You grumble out the last words, and Monoma nods in agreement. Before the two of you can continue to talk and complain, both of your teachers have arrived at the campfire circles and blew a whistle to get everyone's attention, making you slightly wince in pain.
"Attention, everyone! Listen up, because we're not going to repeat this information. You will be competing with Shiketsu's year-round members in a series of logical, physical, and educational challenges. You will be working in pairs and you have five minutes to decide your partner. Get to work!" Vlad King finishes off the explanation with another blow from the whistle, and everyone springs into action.
Between the sudden movement of everyone, you've lost Monoma from your sight. At first, you look for Tsuyu- but she's already holding hands with Uraraka. And with an amused smile, you turn around, looking for the pink-haired girl. Maybe Mina doesn't have a partner yet? But just as you catch her eye and she waves, you see that she's already sitting down with Denki. With a sigh, you look around the crowd aimlessly, wondering who you'll team up with now. But as you realize that you can team up with anyone- regardless of class,- you begin to look for Kendo. You weave through the crowd and catch her swinging hand.
"Hey! Wanna be partners for the project? We'll crush it together." But she's giving you a sheepish smile, and you stop in your tracks.
"Sorry Y/N, Setsuna already asked me to be her partner. Maybe next time, alright?" You don't feel too disappointed, but it still makes you frown. You're about to sit down and contemplate your choices when a hand clasps around one of your wrists.
"Y/N! I've been looking for you," Monoma sounds slightly out of breath, his cheeks flushed red. You raise your eyebrows in surprise at his disheveled appearance, but before you can question him, he's already responding to your question.
"I was looking for you," he says with a shrug. "Almost got trampled by some of your lousy classmates." He grumbles, and you snicker.
"Anyway, I don't think you have a partner and neither do I. We've always been the best at competitions- don't look at me like that- you know we are. If we combine our forces, we'll beat every single loser here. What do you say?" His eyes are wide open,, and while Monoma wouldn't have been your first choice- but seeing that you're out of choices, you nod.
"Sure. Let's do it." Maybe working with him won't be so bad. Or at least, you hope so.
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