Dusk fell over the mountains, washing the forest with chilled, golden sunlight.
The campsite was a large establishment of several buildings, built over flat, sandy ground, with several football-sized area worth clearing in all directions.
Where the open ground ended, the forest began, darkening all visions.
Presently, figures began taking shape in the darkness as they crawled, dolling side to side like zombies.
Torn clothes.
Beaten and bruised.
Covered in sweat and dirt.
More than anything… starving!
No matter how one looked, the figures walking out of the forest didn't look like the students who had set themselves on a quest to conquer the Beasts Forest in the morning.
The first beating that Lemillion had bestowed upon them had only been a beginning.
When the students awoke, they had found themselves stranded in the forest, separated.
Soon, they realized that they had taken the Earth Beasts for granted.
It was one thing to overpower the massive beasts with several Quirks. It was another thing entirely to do it alone… at least for some of them.
As if that hadn't been enough, the Pro Hero had kept coming for them, making things worse.
The result?
It took them three more cycles of passing out cold and then regrouping to reach the campsite.
The same distance that they were challenged to complete in three hours became an over seven hours of lethargic ordeal.
As the students stumbled their way toward the blurry buildings in the distance, they began falling to the ground, holding their stomachs. Only a few of them remained standing on their feet, but they were bent over, too, propping themselves up with their hands on their knees.
"Youuuuuuu…" Someone shouted cheerily. "… are finally here!"
All recognized the voice as the one they had heard yesterday.
Lifting their heads, and as their vision cleared, they finally saw the people standing between them and the buildings in the background.
Erasure Head and Mandalay were the farthest.
Pixie-Bob was standing next to Lemillion, looking at him with googly eyes.
And, nearest to them, wearing her sleeveless, red shirt and short skirt Hero Costume, was Snapshot Hero: Snappy — Aina Saionji!
"CHEERS!" she shouted before snapping a pic of the group.
Then, ignoring everyone, she rushed to Luke, who had stood up straight, and gave him a water bottle.
"…"
Luke took the bottle before passing it to the others, Mineta and Kaminari crawling toward Aina to see her clearly.
"Alright, everyone!" Pixie-Bob shouted. "Gather up, Meow!"
"… Three hours?!" Kirishima suddenly blurted after gulping a mouthful of water. "Three hours?!!"
"Ah… Hehe!" Pixie-Bob grinned innocently. "That's the time a Pro would have needed to clear the forest… if Lemillion wasn't there… Sorry!"
Erasure Head and Mandalay joined the group, then.
Aizawa put a hand on Mirio's shoulder and introduced, "I am sure you have already heard of him. This is your senior, Mirio Togata, a recent pass-out from UA. He and Snappy are sent by Sir Nighteye Agency upon UA's request to help you guys with the training."
Of course, Erasure Head didn't tell them the need for Lemillion and Snappy to oversee the students' training with so many Pro Heroes already present on the campsite.
Excluding him and Wild, Wild Pussycats, Vlad King had yet to join them, too.
It was all to prepare for the worst, in case the Villains were dumb enough to make a move on the students again.
"Erasure Head told us that beating my Earth Beasts wouldn't be much of a difficulty for you guys, Meow!" Pixie-Bob giggled. "So, we also added a Pro in the picture, raising the level."
Unknown to the hidden undercurrents, the students were eying the two Sidekicks.
Hearing Pixie-Bob's shameless giggle made them remember the horror they had experienced in the last several hours, though.
"… raising the level?!" Sero complained, lying on the ground. "He… is a monster!"
Everyone nodded at that.
"Especially with that Quirk of his," Tsuyu said, finally voicing her thoughts after drinking water. "It's so — broken!"
There was not one student whose thoughts didn't resonate with Tsuyu's.
Even Bakugo felt that even if he had gone all out with his evolved Quirk, things would have turned out the same.
"We all just got… punched…" Midoriya eyed Lemillion, "… without ever really figuring out what was going on…"
Mirio smiled. "Did you think my Quirk was strong?"
"Strong enough to be unfair!" Toru complained.
"You could slip through everything and warp!" Mina joined in. "What are you? A hybrid like Todoroki?!"
"Nope," Mirio replied flatly. "Just one."
That took all the students by surprise.
"It's Permeation!" Aina told them, looking proud.
Pixie-Bob dragged Snappy away. "… Let my man speak…"
… My man?! Erasure Head and Mandalay's lips twitched, seeing the clueless expressions on the students' faces.
Mirio nodded. "The warp thingy is just an application of my Quirk. When I activate my Quirk, I pass through everything. Everything."
Midoriya's eyes lit up. "So, you were falling into the ground?!"
"Bingo!" Mirio gave Midoriya a thumbs-up. "Things with mass cannot overlap. So, when I release my Quirk, I get repelled to the surface in an instant. By controlling the angle and position, I can imitate a warp-like effect."
"… So…" Momo held her chin. "You can avoid all attacks and warp anywhere you like in an instant… It really is a strong Quirk…"
"No." Mirio's flat reply cut off Momo's sentence. "I made it a strong Quirk. When activated, my Quirk prevents oxygen from reaching my lungs. I cannot see. Hear… Sense. Even a simple action like passing through a wall involves many steps."
The students shared a glance among themselves, knowing well how difficult it would be not to mess up, especially if they were in a hurry.
"I was always behind, yes," Mirio said, knowing the students' thoughts. "To rise to the top with this Quirk, I needed to think faster than everyone. Tricks! Predictions! Experience! And… Training!"
A heavy expression replaced the astonished ones on the students' faces.
"That's why I am here," Mirio told them, smiling widely. "I wanted to show you the significance of training through experience. The world is getting dangerous outside, yeah? If you ever want to be a Pro, then you need to make all the training count!"
For a moment, the hunger for experience replaced the hunger for food in the students, their fingers balling into fists.
After a while, as Mandalay and Erasure Head took away the riled-up, but starving, students, Mirio suddenly stepped toward a student.
The boy turned around as the Pro's hand landed on his shoulder.
"Luke, right?" Mirio said, looking into the boy's eyes. "Got a minute?"
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