Papa Meets Old Crush

the Camping!Ⅲ

On the way back to the campsite, everything was super peaceful.

They didn't talk much, but that felt just right. They both wanted to keep the calm and good vibe they had going.

Especially Izuku, who usually worried about everything, was loving this peace in his mind. Everything felt fine, like everything was gonna be alright. He was so happy, walking alongside Kacchan.

At least, he was happy like that until they arrived.

It looked like the adults' party had already ended. There were hardly any people left, and the tables were a mess with leftovers. Only a few women were standing by the smoky campfire, talking to each other in hushed tones. But when they noticed Izuku and Katsuki, their faces filled with fear and worry, and both heroes tensed up.

"What's going on?" Katsuki started, taking a step forward.

But the mothers turned to Izuku urgently, not Katsuki.

"Mr. Midoriya! Where have you been? We called you several times!"

Izuku froze and pulled out his phone, but there were no missed calls or messages.

"But there's no..." Izuku gasped and realized that maybe the place he had been with Kacchan was out of the phone service area, so his phone had been dead.

If they, more exactly Camie had tried to call him...

All the blood drained from his face.

Izuku nearly lunged at the women right then and there, making them scream, but Katsuki managed to stop him quickly right before he held them improperly.

"What happened?!" Izuku yelled, struggling in Katsuki's strong grip, his voice high-pitched.

"Where is Eri?!"

He glared at their tent, only to see the front door closed, just as he had left it.

"She's not here," one of the mothers, a tall woman, said with a serious but relatively steady expression. "Ms. Utsushimi and all the men are searching for her—your daughter, in the forest. We were staying for kids and waiting..."

Izuku cut her off. "So, where did she go, I mean, Ms. Utsushimi!"

Another woman pointed to the distant forest, in the opposite direction of where Izuku and Katsuki had just emerged. "She went over there."

Izuku lowered his knees, bright green sparks appearing around him, especially near his calves. In an instant, he unleashed incredible strength, launching himself into the air with almost crashing the soils under his feet, heading toward the indicated direction. At that moment, joining the hero teacher was the only thing on his mind. All the women were knocked down by the wind force of his power, and Katsuki, the only one still standing, shouted at them to take care of Tatami, please.

Once Izuku dashed away into the dark forest, Katsuki's sounds disappeared. Maybe Katsuki couldn't use his quirk here because of the fire danger, but Izuku didn't care. He kept going faster above the treetops, calling Eri's name loudly.

──Eri, Eri, where are you?!

But the forest was huge, and it seemed like his voice could never reach the whole area. All he could do was scream desperately.

Luckily, Camie soon appeared in front of him.

"Midoriya!" She flew up from the treetops, catching up to him with a shoe-style support item that allowed her to glide on her feet.

She skipped an unnecessary apology. "All the parents are searching for her all over the forest! They were supposed to call me as soon as they spotted her!"