Flower of two worlds

13.- The camp

To be a ninja means giving every ounce of energy, pushing oneself to exhaustion, breaking oneself just to rebuild into a stronger version, and at times, being willing to give one's own life for the greater good. I wanted to see how far these kids were willing to go on their journey to become heroes.

As the day began to paint the sky with pastel hues, Class 1-A students dragged themselves out of their beds and gathered in front of the camp house. While Aizawa and the professional heroines seemed perfectly awake and ready for the day, most students appeared more asleep than awake. Some yawned, while others didn't bother to fix their hair, trying to gain a few extra minutes in bed.

"Aren't you tired, Sakura?" Ochako asked in a hoarse voice, struggling to stay on her feet as she stretched her body in an attempt to wake up.

"I'm used to getting up early" she replied tersely. However, in reality, she was as exhausted as the others. Years of ninja training with Kakashi summoning them at the crack of dawn when he showed up after noon and her tight schedule as a student and ninja medic had accustomed her to early mornings, even when her body yearned to stay in bed.

Despite her appearance, she felt as drained as the rest of them. Although she had shared a bed with Midoriya the previous night, she hadn't slept well. For the first time, her night terrors had turned into nightmares, recalling moments when her life had been in danger, both when she was a young ninja facing Kabuto and in more recent situations. She had lost count of how many times she had woken up during the night, and now she felt somewhat restless.

"Good morning, everyone" announced Aizawa, catching everyone's attention. "Today, you will begin your training to strengthen your abilities. The goal is to improve individual strength and obtain your provisional licenses."

Aizawa tossed a ball to Bakugo and asked him to demonstrate the progress they had made since the beginning of the school year. The students were excited and speculated on how far Bakugo could throw the ball.

"Go to hell!" Sakura nearly choked hearing Bakugo shout as he launched the ball. Though she absentmindedly wondered how far the ball would go if she threw it; the last time she threw an object, it was Naruto, and she sent him flying 387 meters, and he weighed much more than a ball.

The surprise on Bakugo's and the others' faces was evident when Aizawa revealed his new record: 709.6 meters, only 4.4 meters further than his previous record. Immediately, those who were still half-asleep woke up, shocked to realize that if Bakugo hadn't improved much, they might be even worse.

"As you can see, your Quirks haven't improved much" he smiled sinisterly. "It will be so tough that you'll feel like you're dying, but don't. We have everything we need to enhance your abilities. The training field is at the back."

Without a second thought, they turned and made their way to the training field. Along the way, Sakura picked up the ball Bakugo had thrown.

"You have some interesting students" Mandalay commented as she stood next to Aizawa."

"Especially that pink-haired girl, you've got her well-hidden," Pixie-Bob added, giving a mischievous look to Aizawa. "Don't think we didn't notice that she didn't seem tired yesterday or today. Yesterday, we read her profile; it says she passed the medical exam. Why didn't you tell us about her? What do you have with her?"

Aizawa observed the two girls without flinching. "I don't want to know what you're thinking. She's just one of my students, and just because she's a medic doesn't mean she'll receive different treatment from the rest," Aizawa replied, starting to walk and leaving the two girls behind. "No favoritism. They're all first-year students. If she wants to be like Recovery Girl, she'll decide it when she graduates."