Chapter 53 - The forest at night
The forest at night was a different entity entirely from the training grounds of the day. The sounds of birds and the rhythmic thuds of Quirks were gone, replaced by a suffocating stillness broken only by the rustling of leaves and the eerie, high-pitched chorus of cicadas. The darkness wasn't just an absence of light; it felt heavy, pressing against the skin like a damp cloth.
"Test of Courage!" Pixie-Bob chirped, her enthusiasm undimmed by the oppressive atmosphere. She stood at the entrance to a dark, winding trail. "Class B will be the ghosts scattered through the woods! Class A will leave in pairs every three minutes! The goal is to reach the small wooden lodge deep in the forest and bring back a tag with your name on it!"
The students of Class 1-A stood in a huddle, emotions ranging from excitement to terror.
"I heard..." Mineta whispered loudly, holding a flashlight under his chin to cast ghastly shadows on his face. "I heard that this forest was once a burial ground for travelers who got lost and starved... their spirits still wander looking for food..."
"Eeeek!" Ashido and Hagakure clung to each other. "Stop it, Mineta!"
"Cut it out," Kirishima laughed, crossing his arms. "There are no ghosts here. Quit trying to scare everyone."
Near the back of the group, Aokiji stood with his hands in his pockets, looking utterly bored. Fate, or perhaps Aizawa's sense of humor, had paired him with Fumikage Tokoyami.
"What a drag..." Aokiji yawned, tilting his head back to look at the canopy of trees blotting out the stars. "Do we really have to walk all the way there just to come back?"
Tokoyami stood with his arms crossed, Dark Shadow hovering silently over his shoulder. He looked at the pitch-black trail with a calm intensity.
"You do not seem frightened, Kuzan," Tokoyami noted, his voice deep.
"It's just trees and darkness," Aokiji shrugged.
"Indeed," Tokoyami closed his eyes. "The darkness is an old friend to me. A banquet of shadows."
"Right," Aokiji muttered. "You're perfect for this event."
They waited for their turn. The air was humid, sticky with the summer heat. But suddenly, the wind shifted.
A sharp, acrid scent cut through the smell of pine and soil. It wasn't the earthy smell of a campfire; it was chemical, pungent, and wrong.
"Sniff, sniff." Kirishima tilted his head. "What is that smell? Is there another BBQ happening?"
Aokiji frowned, his nose twitching. He looked at the redhead.
"Is there something wrong with your sense of smell?" Aokiji asked flatly. "How does this smell like barbecue to you? It smells like burning resin."
Before Kirishima could reply, a plume of thick, black smoke rose above the tree line in the distance. And then, defying the natural order of the forest, flickering lights began to dance in the shadows. Not orange or yellow, but a sickly, vibrant blue.
"That's not a campfire..." Aizawa whispered, his eyes snapping open. He spun around to face the students. "Everyone! Stay back! This is an emergency situation!"
"Such a pleasant evening..."
A voice, smooth and mocking, drifted down from above.
"Isn't it, heroes-in-training?"
Every head snapped upward.
Perched precariously on a thick branch of a massive oak tree overlooking the clearing, a figure stood silhouetted against the moon. He was lean, with dark spiky hair and patches of purple, scarred skin held together by surgical staples. In his open palm, a ball of blue flame roared, casting long, terrifying shadows across the clearing.
"Villains?!" Mineta shrieked, backing away. "How did they find us?!"
Aizawa's capture scarf began to float around his neck. "Vlad! Protect the students! I'll handle this—"
The villain on the branch didn't look at the teacher. His turquoise eyes scanned the crowd of students, searching, until they locked onto a tall figure standing near the back.
"Oh," Dabi smirked, the scars on his cheeks stretching. "There you are."
He didn't attack. He didn't throw the fireball. Instead, he simply hopped down from the branch, landing gracefully in a small clearing about twenty meters away from the group. He stood up, dusting off his coat, and looked directly at Aokiji.
"Well?" Dabi called out casually. "Are you coming?"
The question hung in the air, confusing everyone.
"Kuzan?" Aizawa barked, sensing something was wrong. "Stay where you are."
Aokiji didn't listen.
He took a step forward. Then another. He walked past the trembling Mineta, past the confused Kirishima, past the alert Aizawa. He walked with his usual slouch, hands in his pockets, heading straight toward the villain.
"Kuzan!" Aizawa shouted, stepping forward to grab him. "That is an order! Get back here!"
Aokiji sidestepped the teacher's reach without looking at him. He kept walking until he was standing face-to-face with Dabi.
"You're late," Aokiji said, his voice calm enough to be discussing the weather. "I was starting to think you guys got lost."
Dabi chuckled. "Mountain roads are tricky, Ice Prince. Are you ready to go?"
"Yeah," Aokiji replied simply. "Let's get this over with."
The silence that followed was heavier than any ice Aokiji could create. It was the silence of betrayal.
"Kuzan... kun?" Midoriya whispered. His voice trembled. His hand instinctively went to his pocket, fingers curling around the cold metal of the Gold Medal—not the box, just the medal itself. "What... what are you saying?"
"Aokiji!" Kirishima yelled. "Get away from him! He's a villain!"
Aokiji ignored them. He leaned in slightly as Dabi stepped closer. The villain lowered his voice to a whisper that only Aokiji could hear.
"I'm just a clone... My real body is waiting by the riverbank near a giant stone, deeper in the woods. Make your own way there."
Aokiji nodded once. "Understood."
He pulled his right hand out of his pocket.
Fwoosh!
He didn't attack Dabi. Instead, he swiped his hand toward the forest floor. Ice erupted from his palm, not as jagged spikes, but as a smooth, curving track. It formed a massive slide, an icy rollercoaster rail that rose over the bushes and wound its way deep into the dark forest.
"See ya," Aokiji muttered.
He stepped onto the ice, crouched low, and pushed off. In a second, he was gliding away, gaining speed rapidly.
"AOKIJIIII!!" Midoriya screamed, the sound tearing from his throat.
The spell broke.
"Chase him!" Kirishima roared.
Midoriya, Iida, and Todoroki surged forward, desperate to stop their classmate, desperate to understand why he was leaving with the enemy.
"Stop!" Aizawa yelled.
But before the students could take more than a few steps, Dabi raised his hand lazily.
"Don't be rude... we were in the middle of a conversation."
BOOOM!
A massive wall of blue flame erupted from the ground. It was intense, scorching hot, and it cut a violent line between the class and the retreating figure of Aokiji. The heat forced the students to skid to a halt, shielding their faces from the inferno.
"Damn it!" Bakugo cursed, watching the blue fire reflect in his angry eyes.
Through the flames, a pair of red eyes glowed.
Aizawa stared through the fire, his hair floating wild.
"Erasure."
The effect was instant. The roaring blue flames flickered and vanished as if someone had turned off a gas valve.
Dabi looked at his hand, then at Aizawa.
"Oh..." Dabi said, his voice sounding distorted. "As expected of the Pro Hero, Eraser Head. One look from you ruins all the fun... you really are cool..."
Suddenly, Dabi's body began to destabilize. His skin turned into a brown, viscous sludge. He melted like mud in the rain.
"A clone?!" Pixie-Bob shouted. "Twice's quirk?!"
The pile of mud collapsed onto the grass, lifeless.
Aizawa stood there for a second, his chest heaving. He stared at the path of ice disappearing into the dark woods. For the first time, genuine fear and fury mingled on his face.
He whipped around to face the other teacher.
"Vlad! Gather all the students and retreat to the main lodge immediately! Do not let them out of your sight! Protect them at all costs!"
"What are you going to do, Eraser?!" Vlad King shouted, herding Class B together.
Aizawa gripped his capture scarf, his eyes burning red.
"I'm going to drag that idiot back," Aizawa growled. "And I'm going to make him regret this reckless move."
He leaped over the fallen log and sprinted into the darkness, following the trail of ice.
Amidst the chaos, the screaming students, and the retreating teachers, Izuku Midoriya stood frozen. His mind was racing, connecting dots he didn't want to connect.
The attack... Aokiji leaving... the location...
A sudden, horrifying realization hit him like a punch to the gut. He gasped, turning his head toward the distant cliffs.
"Kota..." Midoriya whispered, horror dawning on him.
The young boy, Kota, who hated heroes. He had wandered off alone before dinner. He wasn't with the group.
"Kota isn't here!"
Midoriya looked at the mountain, where the blue flames were starting to spread.
The night had only just begun, and the nightmare was already spiraling out of control
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