Beast Speaker, Monster Tamer

49: Same Snake, Different Skin

With the final exam finished, one would have expected an air of relief and laughter in the Class of 1-A the next day, but the moment Elise stepped into the room with Katsuki and Mezo, she was hit with a nearly tangible air of despair. Those who had failed the final exam were gathered together, a dark miasma emitting from them.

"Everyone..." Mina hiccuped, hands clasped in front of her and eyes clenched shut. "I'm looking forward... to hearing your stories... about training camp..."

Midoriya was trying to comfort the group of bereaved students as Elise moved to her seat. All he got for his troubles was Kaminari poking him in the eyes. Elise winced sympathetically, clasping a hand over her mouth to cover up her chuckles.

Poor Midoriya...

Are you kidding me? This is hilarious.

"Once the bell rings, get in your seats." Aizawa's arrival quickly put an end to the spectacle as students scrambled to their desks. He walked behind his podium before facing the class. "Good morning. Unfortunately, there are those who did not pass the final exams. Accordingly, for the training camp in the woods..." He perked up, his bloodshot smile at odds with his tone, "Everyone's going!"

Elise flinched at the unexpected noises. His shout and the cheers of the students afterward startling her. However, she smiled at the fact that the entire class was able to go.

"A last-minute twist!"

"We can go too?!"

"Yeah," Aizawa confirmed. "Some failed, but no one failed the written exam. In the practical, Sero, Kirishima, Ashido, Kaminari, Sato, and Koda failed."

Sero could be heard lamenting his loss.

"For this time's exam, we on the villain side made sure to leave a way for the students to win while watching to see how you all would take on the task at hand," Aizawa stated. "If we hadn't, most of you would've gotten stuck before you started."

"So when you said you were really out to crush us..." Ojiro began.

"That was to make you feel cornered." Aizawa finished for him. "The aim of the training camp in the woods is meant to increase strength, in the first place. So those who failed need it the most. They have to get stronger. But failure is failure. There will be separate lessons set aside for you." The last part was aimed at the group of students prematurely celebrating, their happiness vanishing. "These classes will be much harder than your normal classes. So be prepared."

Despite what Aizawa said, spirits remained high throughout the day. It was all anyone could talk about, even as the bell rang for the day as everyone received their guide for the training camp.

"I'm glad we can all go together," Ojiro smiled, holding up his booklet.

"Yep!" Elise agreed, opening her guide. "I'm excited for this! I've never had anything on this scale before, and the things I had, I was never allowed to go on so this is my first time."

"We'll make it your best trip ever!" Mina cried, crashing into Elise. "You'll enjoy it a lot, I promise you that, Wing-chan!"

"We need to bring a lot of stuff," Iida mused.

That raised multiple concerns with some students, including Elise, as they lacked the items.

Hagakure spoke up, "Since we're off tomorrow, and we just finished our exams, why doesn't Class A go shopping together?"

Several students perked up at the offer, interested in the idea.

"Great idea!"

"Right! Wouldn't that be the first time that we've all hung out together?"