Hinata's POV

The wheels of the large coach slowly creak as we slowly come to a complete stop. The bus hisses as it lets out smoke, lowering it closer to the ground.

"We're here!"

Everyone begins to move at once, gathering all their things.

Well, almost everyone.

Aoi is the only one who remains seated. Their head is pressed against the window, with a hoodie being used as a makeshift pillow.

The fact they're sleeping through this commotion is pretty impressive. But I should try to wake her. I don't want her to miss out on the fun or worse: get left behind on the bus!

"Aoi? Are you alright?"

Aoi doesn't move.

"Time to get a bit creative," I mutter as I reach into my backpack and pull out a backscratcher. My brothers insisted that I bring it with me, claiming they won't be there to scratch my back, so I gotta be able to do it myself. It's a bit weird, but it's cute that they're so concerned.

I slowly reach out and poke Aoi in the arm with the back scratcher. I wait a few seconds for a reaction, then poke her again. I do this a few times until she lets out a groan and opens her eyes. I immediately back up as she glares at me.

"Why are you poking me."

"Hey Aoi! So sorry to wake you, but we're here!"

They soften their look as they let out a sigh. They slowly sit up and begin to stretch.

"Do you need any help gathering your stuff?"

Aoi doesn't respond as she continues to stretch.

Reaching up in the overhead compartment, I grab their stuff and place it in the seat next to them. I give them a quick smile and head towards the front of the bus.

"Thanks for the ride Senki!" I say with a smile.

Senki returns the smile and waves as I step off the bus and touch the ground after spending I don't know how long sitting on that bus.

"Are you sure you would like to be dropped off here, Young Tamura? I am sure I can find another lot closer to the campsite," Senki, Suki's driver, asks as he walks off the bus towards the luggage compartment.

"I am sure Senki. We all agreed we wanted to get the full experience, so we shall take the trolley and hike the rest of the way to the campsite," Suki answers.

Once the luggage compartment is open, everyone gathers around for their big bags.

"Does everyone have their bag?" Kita asks. We all nod or say something in acknowledgment.

"Perfect. Now we've got to distribute our supplies. Tamura, you have our list right?"

"I do indeed, Yukimura."

As Suki and Kita begin to go through our supplies, I take a look around. We're in an empty gravel parking lot, surrounded by huge trees. The trees partially block the sun, making the temperature just right. Along the tree line the greenest grass I have ever seen.

"Dang, is it just me, or is it hot?" Ale says with a smirk. He walks up to me and puts his arm over my shoulders.

"Just you bud. Speaking of heat, have you drank water yet?" I ask as I pull out a plastic water bottle and hand it to Ale.

"Thanks. You know I'm thirsty," he says, accepting it.

"In more ways than one," Sakura comments as she walks past us. I chuckle as Ale stares at her in disbelief.

"Dawg! Did that really just happen?"

"Yep. And to be honest, she ain't wrong."

Ale rolls his eyes. He pulls away and punches my shoulder.

"If shooting my shot makes me thirsty, then I'm dehydrated 'cause I ain't afraid to take it."

"Oh? Does that mean you're still gonna go after Sakura?"

"Naw dawg. I now realize that ship is never gonna sail. But it's ok because someone else has got my attention!"

"Who?"

"You'll find out soon enough," Ale says with a wink as he walks up to the girls to grab his share of supplies.

I guess love is laced in this fresh air.

...

According to Suki, our campground is right next to a lake that is in between a few mountains, in a canyon sorta thing. Senki drove us over the mountain and dropped us off near the top. Normally, it would take a super long time to get down the mountain. However, there is a tram that takes us about three-fourths down the mountain. From there, we plan on hiking down to the campsite.

We hike to the tram, which is about a half mile away. Lucky for us, there is a trail in the forest that leads us straight there.

When we begin traveling, our big group slowly divides itself into three groups. The group in front is led by Suki (she has the map), Asia, the twins, and Sanada. The middle group consists of Kita, Mori, Ale, and Jasper. The last group has the rest of us, who are taking our time hiking to the trailer.

"Wow! Look at this one!" Jasper exclaims. Zie carefully picks at some flowers in a bush. Zie walks over to zir group and shows them something in zir hands.

"Yo! What the hell is that?" Ale exclaims.

"It's an insect! It's a Japanese beetle to be exact! Isn't it cute with its bronze-colored shell?"

"Cute? That ain't cute!" Ale exclaims.

"Then what do you consider cute?" Jasper asks as zie carefully places the beetle back on the bush.

At this point, I've caught up to them and slowly inserted myself into the conversation.

"I think Kita's pretty cute," Ale whispers.

Kita! Now that's someone I didn't expect Ale to like. She's respected by everyone at UA. It's probably due to the fact that she's disciplined, a hard worker, focused, and very caring of others. Ale on the other hand, isn't quite all those things.

As Ale is talking to Jasper, I notice both Kita and Mori glance back at them.

Mori glares at him, giving him a dirty look. That throws me off guard, as Mori is usually pretty laid-back. Kita's face blushes red as she curiously looks back. As they face forward again, Kita begins to fumble with her horns.

I wait a few moments as the distance between us increases.

"Uh, I think Kita heard you," I whisper. I tap both Ale and Jasper on their shoulders and gesture for them to keep moving.

Ale responds with a wink, then takes off after Kita, with Jasper slowly following behind.

...

Once we arrive at the trolley, Suki quickly takes attendance to make sure we didn't lose anyone along the way.

"The trolley only takes four people at a time, please divide yourself accordingly," Suki says.

I look over to Ale, who has a big grin on his face.

That can't be good.

"Yo Hinata! Follow my lead," Ale says as he walks towards the trolley. I do as I'm told, mainly to keep him out of trouble.

"Hey Kita! A tram just opened up!" Ale says as he shoves me into the tram first. I wince as I hit my arm on the railing, but manage to keep quiet.

I quickly get comfortable and turn towards the door. To my surprise, Kita gets in. She lets out a sigh of relief as she carefully puts down the tent on the floor of the tram.

"Hey Suki, do you—"

"Can I join you?" Mori asks. Well, more like tells us, as he squeezes his way past Ale.

"Never mind, sorry," Ale mumbles as he closes the door.

I move around, so that way Ale ends up sitting across from Kita, and I'm in front of Mori. Mori clenches his jaw as he eyes Ale.

Sorry Mori, but as his friend, I legally have to help him out. At least this way he only makes an idiot of himself, and not a complete idiot.

Not that he seems to care too much though.

After sitting around for a few seconds, the tram suddenly jerks forward. After a shaky start, the tram smooths itself out.

We sat in a rather uncomfortable silence for a few minutes.

Ale lets out a sigh then looks out the window.

"Oh wow. Look at that."

I immediately look out my window and let out a soft gasp.

Whoever said nature is beautiful is a liar. It is absolutely gorgeous. The tops of the trees are dark, yet vibrate green as the sunlight hits their leaves. But the real star of the view is the lake. It's so clear that you can see the reflection of the nearby trees on the surface.

"It's beautiful," Kita comments, pulling out her phone to take a quick photo.

"It is. However, I know a view that is far more beautiful than this scene," Ale says.

"Really? Where? In Mexico?" Kita asks, turning her head over to Ale.

Ale shakes his head, a grin forming on his face.

Oh, here we go.

"No. Every time I see you, I can't help but think you are the most beautiful sight I've had the privilege to lay my eyes on."

Damn. That's smooth as hell.

Pop off king!

Kita immediately looks out the window once again, trying to cover her face with one hand. But we can all clearly see that her face is blushing red.

"Uh, speaking of seeing things, what is something you look forward to seeing once we get to the campground?" Mori asks. I can tell it is taking everything in Mori's power to keep his cool. I can't help but feel bad for the guy.

"I can't wait to see the lake up close!" I exclaim, as to show to Mori that I am here on neutral grounds. "What about y'all?"

"I would love to fly over this area at night. I'm sure that would be an experience," Mori responds. He glances over to Kita, who is still avoiding eye contact and staring out the window.

"I can't wait to see all the plants," Ale answers.

Everyone, including Kita, looks over to Ale, confused.

"You like plants? Since when?" Kita asks.

"They're pretty. Actually, you have a lot of similarities with plants, Kita."

"H-how?" Kita says, caught off guard from Ale's second comment.

"See, not all plants are the same. Sure, some are similar, but some are completely different from the rest. Unique. Now, some may say that's the bad thing, pero I don't think that at all. Your uniqueness, and all the things that make you different is the same reason why you're beautiful. Your uniqueness is the root of your beauty," Ale says, giving Kita a soft smile. Kita's face is bright red. She looks straight down at her feet, rubbing her horns. All Mori can do is sit in silence, as Ale sits up proudly.

And he should be proud. That was actually really sweet and nice of him to say.

After that conversation, we sat around in a comfortable silence the rest of the way down. Once we come to a stop, we quickly gather our things and hop out. We wait around for the rest of the group to catch up.

"Hey Kita. Once we start hiking again, allow me to take the tent the rest of the way," Ale suggests.

"No thanks, I got it," Kita responds, picking up the tent and putting it over her shoulder.

"Well, I insist."

"Why? Are you trying to say I'm not strong enough to carry it the rest of the way?"

Oh no. What did you get yourself into?

Out of the corner of my eye, I can see Mori grinning at Ale's expense.

"I am not saying that at all, Kita. We're here on a vacation. You are always looking out and helping us back at home, and you're doing it now. We appreciate you for it. But I want you to relax and enjoy yourself, which is why I insist. So let me help you for a change," Ale says as he offers his hand to Kita.

To my surprise, and Mori's, Kita hands him the tent.

Just when I think I've seen it all, Ale always finds a way to surprise me.

...

"How do we put this stupid tent together?" Ale mumbles. He's trying to connect a rod to another, but it seems pretty obvious they don't go together.

"Have you tried reading the instructions?" I suggest. I grab a pamphlet from the ground and sit next to Ale, trying to decipher it.

"Naw. I don't need them."

"But weren't you just asking for help?"

Ale chuckles, admitting defeat. He places the rods down and glances over to me. Just as he is about to say something, we hear someone scoff.

We turn to the other side of the tarp, where Mori is successfully putting his side of the tent together.

"What's so funny?" Ale growls.

"Just seems like you enjoy wasting your time."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Kita's very adamant about not having time to date anyone while in the hero course. So like I said, you're wasting your time."

"Mori! That's–"

Ale places a hand on my shoulder, cutting me off.

"I'm convinced she just hasn't found the right guy to make time for, and I am sure I can convince her I am more than worth her time," Ale says with a smirk.

Mori glares at Ale, then turns back to the tent.

I let out a sigh I didn't realize I was holding in.

"So, do you wanna read out the instructions, and I'll put it together?" Ale asks.

"Sure! Now, according to this, put rod A1 on–"

Suddenly, something smacks me across the face. Knocking me to the ground. I groan, rubbing my cheek.

"Hinata! Are you alright?" Akihiko asks, rushing to my side.

"I think so," I responded, letting him help me up.

"What the hell was that?"

I find Ale on the other side of the tent, right in Mori's face. Mori responds by flaring out his wings, his tail swishing side to side in an agitated manner. As if their height difference wasn't already noticeable, Mori flaring up makes him look even bigger.

"If you let me explain, you would know it's an accident," Mori growls. Grinning, he looks down at Ale.

Ale responds by flaring his nostrils as streams of smoke blast out of them. He activates his quirk, allowing his fists to get engulfed in flames.

Before I can yell at them to stop, Raiden walks over to them. He grabs Ale by the collar of his shirt, and drags him away, without saying a word. Ale proceeds to go off a tangent in Spanish, saying words which I assume are not nice things.

"Say something," Akihiko whispers, elbowing me.

I took a quick look, and realized that everyone on the campground had stopped to see what the commotion was about.

"Nothing to see here! Just a misunderstanding, is all! Ale just got overheated from being in the sun for too long, so Raiden took him into the forest to get some shade!" I follow up with a smile.

I know my excuse was not very convincing, but people must not have thought it was worth digging into as they went back to their tasks.

I let out another sigh, shaking my head.

We haven't even been here for a day, and two of our classmates are out to box each other. What could possibly happen next? 

This chapter is written by @eVolution04