My Hero Academia: Next Gen

Chapter 14: The Ghost Town

Despite the fact that all of the training grounds were open to the outdoors, Eri always thought that the Ghost Town felt hotter than the rest. Maybe it was the way the entire grounds were covered in soft golden sand that trapped the heat, or maybe it was the complete and utter lack of any kind of shade. The Ghost Town looked like an old-timey Western American town complete with a long, empty road with wooden buildings lining both sides. There were signs put up that said "Saloon", "Hotel", and "Apothecary". None of the buildings provided much shade outside of the narrow porches each of them sported, and the moment she stepped onto the sand Eri felt the stifling heat rise up and surround her. 

She wasn't the only one who noticed the change in temperature. Mr. Kaminari blew out an audible breath of surprise and said, "Whoo! Oh, man, it is hot in here. Okay, sorry, everyone." He laughed lightly. "I was not expecting it to be this warm outside." 

Eri looked over to see Matsumoto already starting to sweat. Matsumoto fanned herself with her hand and whispered, "I already hate this."

"Don't worry, Matsumoto, this one is my least favourite. It's everyone's least favourite." Eri whispered back. 

She giggled and turned to face the front as Mr. Kaminari wiped his forehead and whistled. "Okay, I'll make this brief so the rest of us can get into some shade. You will be put into teams of two, each with one side of the Ghost Town as your "side". On each side, there is either a blue or red ring. Inside these rings is an adorable stuffed animal, either a cat or a turtle. You must retrieve the stuffed animal from the other team's side and bring it back to yours. To win, you must have both stuffed animals inside your coloured rings." He playfully pointed at the class. "But the more damaged the stuffed animal gets, the fewer points you will receive for the retrieval. Understood? You have a time limit of fifteen minutes to complete the task, and any time remaining after one team wins gets turned into points as well. The team at the end of the exercise with the most points gets a super special prize."

Matsumoto squealed. "I love prizes!"

Mr. Kaminari heard her and grinned in her direction. "Good! Because this one is a doozy. Now, a few general rules. Don't kill each other, try not to maim each other, blah blah blah. Oh, and you can't leave Ground Delta. If you leave during your mission, I count it as a win to the other team."

Himei clapped his hands together and smiled. "This sounds like it's going to be so much fun!"

"Now, does anyone have any questions before I announce the teams?" Mr. Kaminari held up his hand and started to count down on his fingers. "Going once, going twice, go--"

"How much damage are we allowed to do on the training ground itself?" Eri recognized the boy who asked the question as Hansha Riaru, one of the people she hadn't spoken to that much yet.

Mr. Kaminari smiled darkly. "As long as the next person can use it, go nuts. Heroes don't get to be picky about what their battlegrounds look like. Sometimes you arrive on the scene after there's been significant damage. If someone does manage to do too much damage, then we can move to another area while they repair it."

Riaru nodded and put his hands together in thanks. "Thank you."

"Any other questions? No? Okay, then let's reveal the teams!" Mr. Kaminari started pairing students off with each other in a rapid fire list. "Jikan and Kiyori are Team One. Hiku and Yami are Team Two. Sokudo and Amano, Team Three. Shima and Aizawa, Team Four. Kagayaku and Himei, Team Five. Matsumoto and Karada, Team Six. Sasayaku and Torredo, Team Seven. Shimizu and Izumi, Team Eight. Kokyu and Riyushi are Team Nine, which leaves Riaru and Okabe as Team Ten. Everyone, find your partners." He made a gesture like he was releasing wild animals out into the wild after a long and treacherous rehabilitation.