HandCrafted

Heading Out

"Huh?! What's this?! 1A's got students in remedials?! So you have people who actually failed the tests?!"

Apparently, no one had ever explained the meaning of the term 'Friendly Fire' to Monoma at any point in his life. Rivalry was certainly one thing, but how Monoma held onto it and how bitter he seemed to become because of it was truly quite another. It was starting to get to the level that made his classmates genuinely wonder if he understood that 1A were Hero students, the same as they all were.

All it took was the mere sight of someone from their other class – Which happened a lot, given the fact they were part of the same school – For him to fly off the rails. And it was only him now. Yes, everyone wanted to come out on top of their opposing class, but they didn't have this ingrained obsession that the Copy Quirk user seemed to have.

Almost like it was a part of his genetic code. It ended up causing quite the joke within the 1B group – His obsession with defeating 1A only ever came about after his defeat by the hands of Katsuki Bakugou and his team back in the sports festival, but not before putting up a valiant fight. Some people were starting to think that when he had copied Bakugou's Explosion Quirk, he'd copied an aspect of his... Attitude, as well as his explosive abilities. Only the personality traits decided to stick around.

He'd barely even allowed 1A to walk up towards their own bus before he'd started slipping into his usual rants. Some were worried. Others were just exhausted by it.

"Good grief. Does he ever take a break?"

"I'm starting to wonder if he even knows how to. He's obsessed."

"He does realize he's the only one of all of us to fail the test, right? We have mentioned that to him?"

"I'm serious, someone needs to admit him into a hospital, or something."

At this point, Itsuka didn't even have the physical capacity to find herself irritated with Monoma. She'd reached the point of absolute apathy, and felt nothing whatsoever as he ran his mouth off for what had to be the three-hundredth time this year. A real part of her was starting to consider recommending him for psychiatric help with the school nurse, or a professional therapist, or someone who might be able to get through to him. Anything to get him to just calm down.

"Isn't that odd though?! And here I thought 1A was the superior class! So what's happening here, huh?! What – "

A single strike to the back of the neck later, and Monoma was out cold. Itsuka had gotten so used to doing this that she knew exactly what parts of her blonde classmate she needed to hit, and how hard to hit them, to keep him out for as long as she felt like. With the amount of strength that she'd put into that strike, he'd be out for about ten minutes, by which point, the buses would be on their way to the lodge, and he wouldn't have anyone to antagonize.

"Sorry about that." She quickly apologized to the 1A students Monoma had been harassing, before dragging him off back to her own classes group.

The day to finally head out on the trip to the Lodge was here. It had been about a week since the incident at the Kiyashi Ward, and the incident had prompted Yuuei to change the location from where they normally took students, to an undisclosed location in order to try and prevent the Villains from being able to track their location. Some people grumbled, but to others, the mystery made it all the more exciting.

For the others, the last week had been one of preparation and mild relaxation, getting themselves ready for the challenges that this retreat was going to throw at them. Sorting things out at home, getting supplies that they felt they would need, dealing with fussy and concerned parents, and letting friends know where they were going to be for the next week.