Burning Bright | Keigo Takami x Male Reader

Chapter 4

---

Katsuki hopped off the bus with his hands in his pockets. He had insisted on wearing his swim shorts on the ride over, seemingly so he could run off as soon as they got there.

"Alright nerds," he said. "I'm going to find the pool. Time for some cannonballs."

"It's a lake," Ochaco corrected while watching the bus driver unload their gear onto a patch of grass.

"Whatever, Roundface. No one cares." Katsuki grabbed his bag and walked off.

Izuku was about to call after Katsuki and insist he stayed with the group, but decided against it since he knew the blonde wouldn't listen to him anyway.

"Come on, Mina. Our campsite isn't going to set itself up," Ochaco said cheerfully, ignoring Katsuki.

Izuku remembered the challenge he gave everyone before they left; that they were there to blend in and hang out. Easier said than done.

Mina followed Ochaco, humming a song only she knew the melody to. The bus started up again and pulled onto the road. Izuku watched until it disappeared behind an outcropping of rocks and trees.

"No turning back now, huh, Shoto?" All Izuku could hear was a breeze blowing through the pines. He spun around slowly. The last of the other stragglers from the bus were already halfway down the trail to the camp. The bus drop off point was empty. "Shoto?"

Izuku found Shoto standing on the rounded top of a granite boulder. He had his back turned to Izuku. His arms were crossed across his chest while he stared into nothingness, the breeze flowing through his hair.

"Shoto?"

Izuku dropped his backpack on a clump of grass and clambered up to stand next to the dual haired male. Down in the little valley below he could see the bustle of other campers and teams setting up. Between the trees there was the glittery sparkle of Lake Lunari. Izuku was betting that Katsuki had already launched himself in there.

But Shoto wasn't looking at any of that. Izuku shaded his eyes from the sun and looked up for a few minutes, straining to see what Shoto saw. It was another piercingly blue summer sky, empty save for the craggy face of Mount Targon and a few white clouds. Izuku's elbow brushed Shoto's arm as he shifted his position.

Shoto looked over with a hint of surprise on his face.

"Oh. Hi," he said, like Izuku hadn't been standing next to him for the last five minutes. He gave a small smile, but Izuku could tell that he was still worried about whatever it was that had been bothering him. Shoto looked over to where the bus dropped them off.

"Where did everybody go?"

"Wow." Izuku shook his head. "You really are somewhere else, huh?" Izuku looked back at the purplish-grey outline of Mt. Targon framed by a dark fringe of pine. There was still snow on the peak this late in the summer.

Shoto rubbed his hands over his shoulders and sucked in a breath as if he were suddenly chilled. It wasn't even a little cold. The clear sky and sun overhead made Izuku wish for the first time that he had followed Katsuki's advice and worn swimwear. He fanned his face with the camp registration paper.

"We should get going," Shoto said, stepping down easily from the boulder. He looked back at his friend as Izuku fumbled down the rock. Shoto's smile faded as he glanced back up at the sky. "There's a storm coming."

"What?" Izuku tried to look back at the sky, but his foot slipped on a pocket of loose gravel and the roundness of the rock. As usual, too many things at once. He sat down hard in a puff of dust, the back of his leg scraping on the rock.