By the third day of camp, Class 1-A was exhausted but visibly stronger.

  Boa could now fire five consecutive Slave Arrow barrages with eighty percent accuracy, each barrage containing over one hundred arrows. Her emotional stamina had increased dramatically—what would have completely drained her a week ago now felt manageable.

  Katsuki's explosions had grown more powerful and more controlled. The boiling water training had increased his nitroglycerin production significantly, and he'd developed the ability to create explosions of varying intensity with pinpoint precision.

  Across the training ground, similar growth was visible everywhere. Todoroki was using ice and fire simultaneously now, creating devastating combination attacks. Kaminari could discharge 1.5 million volts without immediately short-circuiting. Ashido's acid had become more versatile and controllable.

  "You're all improving faster than expected!" Mandalay announced during lunch on the third day. "At this rate, we might add some additional challenges for the second half of the week!"

  "Please don't," Kaminari groaned. "I'm already dying."

  "Heroes don't die from training," Pixie-Bob said cheerfully. "They get stronger!"

  That afternoon brought a new exercise: a "Test of Courage" through the forest that would happen after dinner. Class 1-B would play the scarers hiding in the woods, while Class 1-A would navigate through in pairs, trying to reach a checkpoint without getting frightened.

  "It's not just about bravery," Aizawa explained. "It's about maintaining composure in dark, uncertain environments. Real hero work often happens at night, in poor visibility, in situations designed to frighten and disorient you."

  The class spent the afternoon in rescue scenario training—responding to simulated disasters, evacuating civilians, managing multiple crises simultaneously. It was exhausting but valuable work.

  During a break, Boa found herself sitting with Todoroki, both of them recovering from a particularly intense rescue drill.

  "Your petrification has become formidable," Todoroki observed. "The sustained barrage technique especially."

  "Thank you. Your simultaneous ice and fire attacks are impressive as well."

  "Midoriya helped me realize I needed to accept both sides." Todoroki looked at his left hand, flexing his fingers. "It's still difficult. Using my fire side feels like giving in to my father. But I'm learning to separate the power from its source."

  "That's significant growth."

  "You've grown too. Not just in power—in presence. You carry yourself differently than you did at the start of the year." Todoroki's heterochromatic eyes studied her. "Bakugo has been good for you."

  Boa felt her face warm slightly. "We push each other to improve."

  "It's more than that. You're both more stable when you're together. More grounded." He paused. "I don't have that. Someone who balances me out. Sometimes I wonder what it would be like."

  "You'll find it," Boa said. "Or it will find you. These things happen when you're ready for them."

  "Maybe." Todoroki stood, stretching. "The Test of Courage tonight should be interesting. Do you know who you're paired with?"

  "Not yet. Aizawa said he'd announce pairings at dinner."

  Dinner that evening was loud with excitement about the upcoming test. Class 1-B was already strategizing their scare tactics, while Class 1-A tried to act unimpressed but was clearly nervous.

  "I hope I don't get paired with someone who's actually scared," Katsuki grumbled, aggressively eating his rice. "I'm not holding anyone's hand through the woods."

  "You held mine during training yesterday," Boa pointed out quietly.

  "That was different. That was tactical hand-holding for the Petrification Platform technique."

  "Of course. Tactical."

  Ashido, sitting across from them, barely suppressed her giggle.

  Before Katsuki could respond, Aizawa stood up at the front of the dining hall.

  "Attention. I'll now announce pairings for the Test of Courage. You'll enter the forest in these pairs, navigate to the checkpoint, and return. Class 1-B is already in position." He began reading names. "Midoriya and Todoroki. Kaminari and Ashido. Kirishima and Ojiro..."

  The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  Boa listened, waiting for her name.

  "Hancock and Bakugo."

  Something in her chest relaxed. She'd been paired with Katsuki—the person she trusted most, who knew her fighting style intimately.

  But before Aizawa could continue, the smell of smoke drifted through the dining hall.

  Everyone's heads turned toward the windows. Outside, the forest was glowing orange.

  Fire.

  "WHAT THE—" Pixie-Bob started.

  Then the wall exploded inward.

  The dining hall erupted into chaos as villains poured through the breach—multiple figures in dark clothing, faces covered. But at the forefront was a figure Boa recognized from the USJ.

  Dabi. The fire villain.

  "Evening, heroes," he said, his voice bored despite the violence. "League of Villains, here for a pickup. This'll only hurt if you resist."

  "STUDENTS, EVACUATE!" Aizawa's capture weapon was already out, his eyes fixed on the villains. "Mandalay, get them to safety! Pixie-Bob, defensive positions!"

  But more villains were appearing from the forest—surrounding the camp, cutting off escape routes.

  "How did they find us?!" Vlad King shouted, blood Quirk activating.

  "Does it matter?" Another villain appeared—Toga, the girl with the knife obsession from intelligence reports. "We're here now! And we're not leaving without what we came for!"

  "Run!" Mandalay's telepathic voice suddenly echoed in everyone's minds—her Quirk projecting to all students simultaneously. "Class 1-A, Class 1-B—evacuate to the evacuation point at the north ridge! Do not engage! I repeat, do NOT engage!"

  The students scrambled to follow orders, but the villains were already moving to intercept.

  A massive villain made of muscle tissue—another Nomu—crashed through the ceiling, roaring.

  "Not again," Boa breathed, memories of the USJ flooding back.

  "Everyone MOVE!" Aizawa's voice cut through the panic. His Erasure activated, targeting the Nomu, but there were too many threats to handle alone.

  Katsuki grabbed Boa's wrist. "We need to go! Now!"

  But as they turned toward the exit, another villain appeared in their path—a man with a gas mask and visible Quirk mutations.

  "Sorry, kids," the villain said, raising his hands. Purple gas began seeping from his palms. "But some of you are coming with us. League's orders."

  The gas filled the room rapidly. Students were coughing, stumbling, some collapsing immediately.

  Boa held her breath and enhanced her legs, trying to jump above the gas cloud. Katsuki used explosions to propel himself upward as well.

  "ASHIDO!" Katsuki shouted. "NEUTRALIZE THE GAS!"

  Ashido, understanding immediately, created a spray of acid that reacted with the purple gas, causing it to crystallize and fall harmlessly.

  "Good thinking!" Pixie-Bob called out, already engaging another villain with her Earth Flow.

  But more villains kept coming. It was a coordinated assault—multiple fronts, multiple Quirks, designed to overwhelm through sheer numbers and chaos.

  "STUDENTS!" Aizawa's voice was strained—he was fighting three villains simultaneously while maintaining Erasure on the Nomu. "GET TO THE EVACUATION POINT! THE PROS WILL HANDLE THIS!"

  "We can help!" Midoriya shouted.

  "NO! You're not ready for this! GO!"

  Mandalay's telepathic voice reinforced the order: "All students evacuate immediately! Pro heroes are en route from the main facility! Do not engage!"

  Boa looked at Katsuki. His expression was torn—the desire to fight warring with tactical awareness that they were outnumbered and outmatched.

  "We go," she said firmly. "We get to the evacuation point. We survive."

  "I don't run from villains."

  "You do when your teacher orders it." She grabbed his hand. "Together, remember? We survive together."

  That decided him. "Fine. But if any of these bastards get in our way, I'm not holding back."

  "Agreed."

  They ran toward the exit along with the other students, but the situation was deteriorating rapidly. The Nomu had broken free of Aizawa's Erasure and was rampaging through the dining hall. Multiple fires were spreading from Dabi's attacks. Villains were everywhere.

  "TODOROKI!" Boa shouted, seeing him frozen in the chaos. "MOVE!"

  He snapped out of his shock and created an ice wall to block pursuing villains, buying the students precious seconds.

  "The forest path!" Iida called out, his engines roaring. "Follow me!"

  The class ran together toward the treeline, but Boa could see more villains moving through the forest—cutting off their escape routes, herding them like prey.

  This isn't random, she realized with cold dread. They planned this. Every detail. They knew we'd be here.

  "Katsuki," she said as they ran. "This is coordinated. They're not just attacking—they're hunting."

  "Hunting what?"

  "Or hunting who." She thought of the USJ, of the League's fixation on All Might, of the way certain students—like Katsuki himself—had been specifically targeted. "This might be an abduction attempt."

  His eyes widened with understanding. "Then we need to—"

  An explosion of blue fire cut off his words, blocking their path. Dabi stepped out of the flames, his scarred face visible in the firelight.

  "Going somewhere?" he asked casually. "Sorry, but some of you are on our shopping list. Particularly..." His eyes locked on Katsuki. "You. The explosive kid. League wants a word."

  "LIKE HELL!" Katsuki's hands erupted with explosions.

  "Katsuki, don't—" Boa started.

  But he was already attacking, rage overriding caution.

  "AP SHOT!" Concentrated explosion bullets shot toward Dabi.

  The fire villain dodged lazily, his own blue flames countering the explosions. "Feisty. I like that. Makes it more fun when we break you."

  "I'LL KILL YOU!"

  "BAKUGO!" Aizawa's voice cut through, even from inside the building. "STAND DOWN!"

  But Katsuki wasn't listening. He was charging at Dabi with pure fury, explosions blazing.

  Boa had a split second to make a decision.

  She could follow orders—evacuate, trust the pros, survive.

  Or she could stay with Katsuki, fight beside him, refuse to let him face this alone.

  Together, she remembered. We survive together.

  She raised her hand, kissed her fingertip, and drew the bow.

  "Slave Arrow!"

  Over a hundred petrifying arrows burst forth, forcing Dabi to dodge backward, creating an opening for Katsuki.

  "What are you doing?!" Katsuki shouted at her. "I told you to run!"

  "You don't give me orders," Boa said coldly, taking position beside him. "We fight together or not at all."

  For a moment, anger and gratitude warred on his face. Then he grinned, fierce and wild.

  "You're insane."

  "I learned from the best."

  Dabi looked between them, then laughed. "How touching. Young love on the battlefield. This is gonna be fun to crush."

  His blue flames intensified, and the real fight began.