Wings of Awakening

Part 46

For the past two days, the hero course students had been training intensely with the Wild, Wild Pussycats. Each day was filled with exercises to push their Quirks further than ever, but for Izuku, there was a quiet part of his routine that had nothing to do with strength or endurance. He had made it his mission to bring Kota his meals, setting them beside the young boy on the cliff where he often sat alone. Bit by bit, their conversations started to take shape.

One evening, Kota surprised Izuku by asking, "Does it hurt when you bring out your wings?"

Izuku shook his head, flexing his back a little as if testing them. "No, they just emerge and retract naturally. I guess they took time to show up because my back was building up strength."

Kota nodded slowly, taking in the answer. After a moment, Izuku's eyes sparkled with a sudden idea. "Hey, you want to go for a ride?"

Kota's eyes narrowed. "No way am I flying around with some hero-in-training!"

Izuku laughed, playfully challenging him. "Come on, it'll be fun! Or are you just scared? Don't worry, I'm not going to drop you," he teased.

"Who's scared?" Kota shot back, his pride getting the better of him, though there was no real bite in his words.

Grinning, Izuku extended his wings and scooped Kota up, holding him securely in a princess carry. With a powerful leap, he launched them both off the cliff. Kota let out a surprised scream, gripping onto Izuku's neck, but soon his fear was mixed with a thrill that he tried to hide. They soared over the treetops, the cool evening air rushing past them as Izuku made gentle turns and dips, letting Kota feel the rush of flight.

After a few exhilarating minutes, Izuku landed back on the cliff. He set Kota down gently and smiled at him. "What did you think? Pretty fun, right?"

Kota glared up at him, but Izuku could see the faintest hint of a smile beneath his stubborn expression. "It was... okay, I guess," he mumbled, looking away.

Later, back at the camp, Mandalay approached Izuku. She smiled gratefully, bowing slightly. "Thank you, Midoriya. Whatever you've been saying to Kota, it's made a difference. I saw you flying around with him, and that's... incredible. He always hated seeing people using their Quirks, but he's at least tolerating you."

Izuku's face softened. "No need to thank me. I just noticed that he's probably lonely, even if he tries to hide it. I made it my goal to talk to him while I'm here."

On the third day of training, things wrapped up a bit earlier than usual, giving the students a rare chance to relax. Mr. Aizawa gathered everyone and explained they'd be doing a Test of Courage in the evening. However, he pulled Mina, Kaminari, Kirishima, Sato, and Sero aside for additional training since they'd failed the final exams, much to their groaning dismay.

Pixie-Bob and Ragdoll stepped in, explaining the rules. "Class 1-B will go first as the scarers, and Class 1-A will be the scarees. Your goal is to find a card with your name on it deep in the forest without getting too scared to complete the task," Pixie-Bob said with a smirk. "Once 15 minutes are up, the roles switch. The class that manages to scare the most students wins!"

As the students lined up to head into the forest, Mina nudged Izuku. "Think Class 1-B's got what it takes to scare you?"

Izuku chuckled, his eyes flicking toward the forest. "They'll definitely try. But I've had some pretty unique training situations—this might even feel relaxing."

Kaminari rolled his eyes. "Says the guy who casually flies around! Some of us don't have wings to escape."

"Don't worry, Kaminari," Kirishima laughed, clapping his friend on the shoulder. "If anything, you'll be too electrified to be scared."

The students laughed, sharing light-hearted banter before stepping into the darkness. The forest loomed ahead, mysterious and full of strange sounds, as Class 1-A prepared to face whatever scares Class 1-B had in store.