𝐖𝐑𝐀𝐈𝐓𝐇 || ᵇ.ᵏᵃᵗˢᵘᵏⁱ

XXXVI

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The second week of the summer break was the training camp, much to Aeri's chagrin. Her dad said it was necessary because of all the villain attacks and they needed to get stronger in order to protect themselves, but Aeri didn't see why they couldn't do it in term time rather than taking away their precious vacation time.

Aeri sulked in the bus. Bakugou's heavy palm rested on her knee as he looked out the window at the passing trees—he wasn't very happy about spending a week with the whole class either.

Halfway there, her dad had the driver stop the bus the they could get out and have a 'break'. Aeri knew something was up when he rounded all the kids out of the bus and the pussycats arrived. She edged her way back to the bus and was about to get back on when her father caught her by the arm and shook his head. He gave her a light shove back over to her classmates just as the road crumbled beneath their feet.

She grabbed onto the two people closest to her and teleported, Jirou and Todoroki clung to her when they landed, woozy from the teleportation, though she supposed it was better than a dented skull. They watched from a safe distance as the rest of their classmates aside from Jungwon fell down the cliff. Luckily, no one was seriously injured or dead from the fall just very dirty and a bit scratched up.

"What the fuck!" She heard Bakugou yell as he dusted himself off, his palms crackling. He stomped over to her a moment later and threw Todoroki's arm away from her, scowling at him possessively before pulling her aside and checking her over. His eyes narrowed when she didn't have a single fleck of dirt on her white Chanel sweater vest. "You teleported?" She nodded and grabbed his chin, turning his head to the side to inspect the small gash on his jaw.

"It's got dirt inside," she said.

"No shit." He grumbled. Their eyes darted over to Mineta when he yelped in fear, then shifted to the giant mud creature looming over him.

"So they throw us off a cliff and then make us fight evil dirt beasts? This day cannot get any worse." Aeri huffed. She pulled the single dagger she had strapped to her thigh free and flipped it in her hand, watching as Kaminari jumped on top of the creature and electrocuted it to death. She stomped off into the woods heading in the direction of the training camp, glad she wore flats for once. She could hear Bakugou following along behind her.

Aeri angrily shoved her dagger into the throat of any beast that came at her, not even bothering to watch as they crumbled to the floor. Bakugou caught up to her, walking alongside her silently. He'd let off an explosion every so often to take down one of the beasts Aeri hadn't seen coming at them. They were miles ahead of their classmates by now, who had chosen to stick together, and it was kind of nice.

Once she calmed down, Aeri switched her dagger to her non-dominant hand and stuck her left one out for Bakugou to hold. He took it happily and they continued to walk through the trees in silence.

"Teleport us," Bakugou said after half an hour of walking. Aeri looked at him, surprised. Normally he hated it. "I'm bored of walking and I want to beat those extras there."

"I can't teleport us all the way, I can only go 250 metres at a time so I'd have to do it multiple times to get there."

"Okay, teleport once, then walk for a few minutes and then do it again." He suggested, tightening his grip on her hand.

"You sure?" She stopped walking and slid an arm around his waist, pressing her body to his affectionately. He reciprocated immediately, placing his hands on her hips.

"Yeah, you said it takes time to get used to, so I'll just fuckin' get used to it."

Aeri smiled and sheathed her dagger before laying a palm on his shoulder and teleporting towards the camp. He groaned and rested his forehead on her shoulder for a few seconds, his eyes shut tight. He recovered a moment later and then began to walk, then teleported again, and then once more before Bakugou had enough. He sat down at the base of one of the trees and buried his face in his palms in an attempt to stop his head from spinning. Aeri squatted down between his legs and tore his hands away from his face, pressing her thumbs down harshly on the pressure points on his wrists. Bakugou leaned his head back against the trunk of the tree whilst she worked her magic, his nausea washing away as she massaged the space where his wrist met his hand.

"You feeling okay?" She asked softly when he opened his eyes. Bakugou hummed out a 'yes' and she stopped her work, sliding her hands up to his biceps. "Ready to go?" She questioned. He shook his head this time, gazing at her warmly. He gripped her elbows and gave her a sharp pull towards him, causing her to lose balance and topple face-first into his chest.

Aeri adjusted her position so her knees weren't digging into his thighs. She straddled his lap and rested her palms on his chest, unable to hug him properly with his back up against the tree. He propped his chin on her shoulder and sighed contentedly.

"So touchy today," Aeri teased, pulling her upper body back so she could look at him. She pushed his hair back from his forehead and smiled.

"Shut up, you love it." He replied, tightening his arms around her waist when she tried to get up.

"They're gonna catch up if we don't get moving." She told him, cupping his jaw. He leaned into her touch.

"Fine." He gave in, tapping her lower back lightly, signally her to get up. She stood and pulled him with her. She turned to start walking again but he pulled her back into his chest. He locked eyes with her and placed a hand on the back of her neck. "Wanna kiss you." He said simply.

Aeri felt her cheeks flush as she stared into his crimson eyes. She nodded slowly and he wasted no time in slotting his lips against hers, his eyes sliding shut. Aeri gripped his shoulder and pulled him flush against her before moving her hand to the back of his head. The kiss was tender and soft and Aeri felt her heart thump louder with each brush of their lips. She pulled away with a smile and he chased after her, wanting more. Aeri chuckled and pressed a finger to his lips.

"C'mon let's go." She unwrapped herself from him and teleported them once more.

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They cleared the forest in another half an hour, arriving before anyone else. Her dad did a double take when he saw them walk out of the forest, Bakugou stumbling slightly from the last round of teleporting they did. He paused his conversation with  the pussycats and strolled over to them.

"We weren't expecting any students to appear for hours yet." He told them.

"Surely after 16 years you've learnt not to underestimate me," Aeri rolled her eyes, pulling her sweater vest over her head and eyeing the smudges of dirt it had acquired from fighting the mud creatures.

Aizawa flicked her forehead. "Don't be cocky."

"How was that cocky?" Aeri whined, rubbing the red mark that was forming on her head. "You threw us off a cliff and made us fight monsters made of literal mud yet you don't see me walking up here calling you names."

"It was necessary... and not my idea."

"Still, you could've taken us on a leisurely stroll down to the forest and then told us we needed to make our own way here instead of making us almost fall to our deaths. What would you do if someone got seriously hurt." Aeri folded her arms over her chest.

"Shut up and go unload your bags." Aizawa frowned. "And give me your sweater, I'll get it dry-cleaned for you."

Aeri complied, handing over the sweater vest and pulling Bakugou into the building, stomping straight past the pussycats and the random child with them without so much as a greeting.

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sorry it's a few hours late!