Jasper's POV

Laughter and chatter rose with the smoke against the night sky and I stared into the mirroring lake before me. Gentle waves jumped up to catch the moon's light and the croak of an animal traveled along them. I was glad for a moment alone. Sure that it wouldn't last long, I soaked it in.

While parties and gatherings and any social event were the staple of my parents' lives, they certainly weren't mine; although, I'd been to plenty. It was overwhelming. In a different way than a fight, where the adrenaline and the need to overcome made hours seem like only minutes. Only then did I seem to know the dance and the tongue of my opponents. This was its own kind of overwhelming. Was my smile too fake? Did I show enough interest? Sometimes, I couldn't think of an answer fast enough and so I kept my mouth shut, aware of the stoic stare I gave, but unable to do anything about it. I knew people's preconceived notions of me. It all melted in my mind, clouding and whispering. I'd freeze.

From the edge of the water, I let my gaze wander back towards my peers around the bonfire. Several were bandaged up, having just returned from the medical center to enjoy the rest of the trip. Others appeared unscathed. Everyone seemed to be having a good time, regardless of what we had just suffered.

Hinata was tossing s'mores high into the air for Ale to roast with a breath of fire and someone else would run below in an attempt to catch them in their mouths or hands. Laughter erupted. And here I was where I always was: at the outskirts to observe. The feeling wasn't foreign or intrusive. It was only that. A feeling. I followed the wisps of the hungry fire towards the starlit heavens above.

Looming over the shadowcast treeline was the mountain. Our hike had been postponed due to the recent events. Since the trail we were originally going to take was now off-limits, we decided to take a different trail around the mountain. Kita was insistent on getting to the top, saying how falling off a cliff won't stop her from finishing the hike. With a Quirk like hers, falling from a cliff was probably the last thing one would expect to happen. If she was embarrassed, she hid it well.

"Jasper?"

I must have looked surprised since they let out a chuckle. I had been so in my head, I didn't hear anyone sneak up on me. Luckily, the villains were gone. "Sorry... I didn't mean to sneak up on you."

The figure walking towards me was hard to confuse with anyone else. Kita's horns cast a golden glow from the moonlight, illuminating her soft pink cheeks. She tucked her hands into the small pockets of her cropped jacket, and looked around us, her pale pink ears moving with a mind of their own.

"A few of us were worried," She said after a moment of silence. "Are you... okay?"

"Yes, I just..." I paused to think, staring everywhere but at Kita. My worries felt silly to explain to her. She left the impression of a strong character, pulling through her own set of worries with determination. All those years of social training kicked in. My gaze flitted back to her with a light-hearted smile to ease worry. "Needed a moment."

"I hear you," Kita laughed as if she was sighing. "If Akiba were here I'd take a pair of his headphones to block out Hinata's corny jokes."

She was rather tall, I noted, a powerful presence. After receiving a blank stare, she added: "I guess you wouldn't know Akiba."

"I don't really know anyone." It was the truth. I knew how to work with them. I understood their Quirks and how they fought, I'd trained with them enough, but up until recently I hadn't participated in many activities without peers from U.A. X. "I suppose I feel... a little bit like an outsider."

"We all have our insecurities that make us feel that way," Kita gestured towards her horns. She shot a grin at me. "There's honestly quite a few new faces coming and going, I'm sure you're not the only one feeling this way. We get to know each other through our team work like... beyond just our Quirks. At the end of the day we're setting aside our differences for a cause." She gestured back towards the rest of our peers. "Besides, it's hard to get to know you when you're over here and we're over there."

I nodded my head with agreement. Kita's words sprinkled logic and sense on me. She was right, we were here to save people. We weren't here to worry about the opinions of others. And another thing I hadn't considered: "I suppose I'm doing it to myself, being out here all alone." I scoffed at myself.

We stood there in silence for a few minutes, moonlight washing over us. Laughter drifted to us. I'd spent so much time in my own pocket of space, I was missing out on those around me and the chance to get to know everyone. Vivienne and Kimbi make it seem as if it were nothing more than plucking a flower from the grass. The lake waters washed up at our feet, before receding again in its monotonous cycle. The sound was soothing.

"I think everyone here wants to get to know you," the pink-haired girl smiled.

I let her words settle on me, anxiety slowly easing itself.

"Merci. Thank you, Yukimura," I say. "We should be getting back then."

"Kita is okay." Her voice seemed to run along the breeze from over her shoulder as she gracefully walked over the stones. Kita made walking over rocky terrain seem like she was gliding on water.

"Welcome back," Mori said softly, but loud enough for us to hear. Kita waved, going around him to the spot she had been occupying prior. His gaze was hypnotic but I had a similar effect towards others. He didn't flinch as he looked at me, concerned. "Feeling better?"

Lost in his stare, I nodded before the words processed. He gave me a fanged grin, patting the seat next to him. What a dummy I must look like, unable to get a word past my dry lips.

I found Mori hauntingly beautiful. As his Quirk, he looked like a creature of the night. Alluring and tranquil. And the night was my favorite time of the day. Without complaint, I planted myself into the seat next to him. The fire still burned bright, beckoning us in with warmth. The later it got, the lower the temperature dropped.

The group had grown more rambunctious, discussing what everyone had done while split up and what kind of enemy they had faced. Ale was standing with Hinata as they re-enacted the scene.

"She had flame swords."

"She still couldn't handle the HEAT!" Ale bellowed, flames bursting from his jaws into the sky, dragon-like. He laughed. "She was kinda cute, though, not gonna lie. I wish every villain could be a baddie."

"Every villain is a baddie," Aoi stated, matter-of-factly. She was clever and had Ale stumped.

"Oh... true!"

The question of what the villains were looking for still lingered. Investigations were long and tedious. And we were impatient. Before they decided to shut down the whole park for investigation the majority of us wanted to see the rest of the park.

"One of the villains mentioned looking for something," Sakura began, resting her chin on her hand. The orange glow of the campfire gave her green eyes a curious sheen; almost like when you are looking through a canopy of trees into the summer sky. The redness of her allergies was nearly gone, something I'm sure she was glad about. "A treasure? I was so busy not getting my ass kicked it's kind of fuzzy now."

"I wonder if there really is one!" Hinata enthused. "Do we get to keep it if we find it?"

"We'd have to report it to the proper authorities, I'm sure," Suki stated, patting the boy on his arm.

"How could they have missed the treasure when she's right here." Kita was now long-forgotten to Ale as he flirtatiously leaned towards the rabbit-eared girl next to him. One of those ears twitched.

"Don't." Was all Asia said, standing to find a new seat next to me and continue roasting her marshmallow. Ale took the rejection with a shrug. It seemed it wasn't something that stung the boy like it would most.

Kita was the first to stand, stretching to the heavens with a big yawn. "I don't know about you all... but I'm hitting the hay. Argo had the right idea; going to sleep early."

I'd been given a choice as to which tent to sleep in. I knew often I was mistaken for a boy. As a child I was mistaken for either or. My hair had been unruly, my eyes wider, my cheeks rounder, and my clothes, much like now, ambiguous. Unless my parents dressed me for formal events. I shuddered at the thought. In the end I made my choice and felt comfortable with it, ignoring the worry that if I only choose one I'd subconsciously be branded as that. I am neither.

***

"I am so ready for this!" Kita cheered, slinging her backpack over her shoulders. Sakura was kneeling next to her, half her body in their tent.

"I am so not." Even though Sakura was buried half-way in the tent, her muttering was loud.

I joined the line of others checking their assigned jobs with Argo, Tami, and Suki. Once camp was packed up and the area cleared of trash, we started our way up the mountain once more. We were a trail of ants, marching along the path. If you breathed in deep enough, the sodden smell of smoke and ashes faintly lingered.

"So I saw you talking to Kita." Sakura appeared at my side, her eyes inquiring with a mischievous spark. I'd heard the others call her 'The Matchmaker', since she always seemed very involved in the getting together or breaking up of our classmates. She was sly with her plans, watching and using her social skills to prod. Sakura could easily be a head detective in a Hero Agency with the way she sleuths on social media.

An answer didn't come fast enough before she was off, inspecting me with her gaze from a few feet away. "Good height. She could probably kick you over since you're on the slim side... Good sense of style. Have you modeled before?"

"I d-don't–," I shook my head, trying to process what she was saying as she spoke. I chose my words with care. "Kita is pretty, but she was only checking on me. Besides, I don't want to cause issues with Mori or Ale..."

While the incident between the two boys had only been a few days ago, the tension still hung around. Instincts told me to not draw attention to myself. Sakura laughed, flicking her hand through the air. "PFfffft! Who cares... the boys are always like that. At the end of the day, they usually get put in their place or chill out."

Relief flooded me when her interrogation was over, her forest eyes catching on to another person of interest. And she was off, her shiny black hair flowing in its ponytail. "I'll catch you later, Buggy!"

Buggy?

My brain felt a little foggy after the interaction. I'd never really paid special interest to any of the others or even thought to. I barely knew them as it was and I wasn't foolish enough to develop a crush on looks alone. Some of the prettiest faces hide the worst of the worst, I'd learned. I let the thought go and we continued on.

Every crevice and rock we passed, I turned over, observing for insects I hadn't drawn out yet. There were the common millipedes, wood lice, and ants crawling all around. My last sketch was of a beetle and we were running out of forest for me to poke around in. The higher we climbed, the more barren the terrain became.

The sun was beating above us and before the trees thinned out, we took a much needed break in the shade. It was a perfect time to root around. Some threw down a picnic blanket, putting together finger foods with patience and care. Others checked their packs, reapplying sunscreen and rehydrating themselves.

Farther away was Ale, flames shooting from his limbs into the air, hungry for whatever it could devour. He seemed to be trying to hold it steady in his palm as it flickered and waned. His thick brows knitted together, frustrated. Brown eyes locked onto me, lighting up with a thought.

"Jasper!"

Frustrated. He seemed frustrated. "It's easy to let loose with

Bluntly, I spoke. "Focus."

My hand rose and I could feel the rush of wind and water spread down my arm and into my finger tips, crackling sharp with energy in the spaces between my fingers as the particles charged on command. "Focus on the space you want to occupy. Your Quirk can be used at a range, use it as an extension of yourself."

In a flash, a spear of lightning formed, its form dancing along itself. And then into the sky. Ale raised a brow but was quick to give it a crack. He took a deep breath and I could see his intense, dark eyes zoning into the air as if deciding how long his blade of flames would be. The fire flicked to life in his hands, extending slowly, gobbling away at an invisible stream of oxygen. He snapped his hand back, the flames vanishing into smoke. Ale smiled at the control.

"You have it! Think about how it feels to release your Quirk slowly," I said softly, not wanting to ruin his concentration. I hoped it sounded encouraging. If it bothered him, he didn't let it show, his eyes again glued to the air.

Again, he tried. And with each try his fire reached further, held together better, and burned brighter. A swing here and a swing there, he danced with his fire. No fear in his footwork or lack of flow in his movements. We heard the others hollering to regroup. "Gracias, amigue. The next villains that think of messing with us won't know what burned them!"

I grinned, a genuine grin at his delight. "Of course."

With everyone huddled together on the path, Tami and Raiden took headcount before we proceeded. The further up the mountain we went, the further we saw the afternoon sun shining in waves across the treetops. We could see parts of the lake shimmering. With all the commotion, I'd forgotten to look around for fascinating aquatic bugs by the shore. And with the lake being used as that villain's personal playground, I assumed the population was disrupted or annihilated. Shame.

Another hour or so passed by with each rock and bush, until we came to a halt with a shout from Kita. I lingered somewhere in the back, listening to her say we might have to go around as she tapped the ground with her sturdy legs. Tanami's eyes were glued to her feet, worried as if she could feel something the rest of us couldn't.

"The ground is kind of soft here so be—" Kita stumbled as the ground shifted, crumbling beneath her feet. Tanami was the closest to her, reaching her hand for her friend. "Careful!"

But she wasn't quick enough, her fingertips grazing along the ram-horned girl's.

And for the second time on this trip, we all watched as Kita Yukimura fell from an edge.

***

Everyone reacted. Especially those who had fought on the mountain. On instinct, Tanami and Akihiko had created a shield of gem-made vines latticed into a dome over the group. We huddled, ready to move in a moment's notice. Quickly, we realized there were no enemies on their way for a fight.

"Kita! Are you hurt?" Aoi hollered over the pitfall.

"I am having terrible luck," Kita's groan echoed from below. "Yeah, I'm okay. Just a bruise after this week." She gave a disembodied laugh, being close enough for us to hear her, but not close enough to see her. I turned my head, raising an arm as a beam of light from her flashlight burst through the darkness.

Voices overlapped, discussing the best course of action aside from Kita staying put.

"Whoa, hey! Check this out!" Kita hollered, the light of her flashlight flickering as she moved around. "I think there's a tunnel!"

"Wait, we don't know if it's stable." Mori stepped to the edge, sizing up the hole before shaking his head. His tail flicked, looking at the heads of those crowded around him. "It's too small for me to fit."

"I got it," Sakura patted the dark boy's chest with a grin, before pressing him out of the way. Anyone who wasn't well-versed in romance would have missed the way her pale, dainty fingers ran along the dark skin of his arms. How his ear twitched. But I didn't. I wondered then why he had gotten protective over Kita.

Thick vines entangled themselves around the girl's arms, crawling towards the pit until Kita hollered for her to stop.

"If anyone should check if the structure is stable, it should be the twins." Argo spoke up, refined and quiet. "Their Quirks deal with minerals and gems, things of the earth."

"Wait." When Raiden spoke, it was as if the mountain spoke. His voice was deep and solid. Without hesitations, he looped his arms under Sakura's for support as Akihiko lowered himself down. There was no flirtiness or mischievousness to Raiden's actions and Sakura didn't seem to mind the help, most of us were made up of muscles that didn't hold a candle to his strength. He glanced over to Asia. "You and I go last. I'm not making Sakura hold me on her own."

Before he could look elsewhere, I felt my mouth move and the words leave, flowing into the air.

"Argo and I can make it down on our own. That way Sakura's allergies don't come back." Sakura looked surprised that I knew her drawback, seeing as we hadn't spoken much. I glanced over at the meek boy with lavender hair. Outside of my own family, I'd never met anyone with such a similar Quirk. "You can float on the clouds, correct?"

Argo's wide blue eyes stared at me for a moment too long, I wondered if he had heard me. Then he nodded with understanding, his eyes glued to the dark pit before us, watching the flicker of flashlights turning on. Behind the twins went Mori, his mouth moving rapidly but no sound coming out to our ears. Sakura took a break while they checked the tunnel out, digging into her bag for allergy medicine.

"It's stable!" Kita called up. Sanada had really been stewing on how a villain could have such a similar Quirk. And while this wasn't quite the same: my eyes stayed glued to Argo, cushioning himself and a few others onto small clouds to lower themselves down. I didn't know the full expanse of his Quirk. The questions could wait until later.

There weren't many people left up here. A good thing about the Hero Course was how quick we pitched in on the work, teamwork was almost second nature for most of us. Those of us who could take others down, did. Our heavier gear was left above, guarded in a chest Suki created. She waited until everyone's things were secured and safe.

"Tamura," I said as I approached the demure girl, standing a few feet away from the edge. Suki was smart for playing it safe. I caught myself glancing at the pitch black of the pit. Although I liked the dim lit darkness of the night, the darkness of a tunnel seemed suffocating. There was nowhere to run except in one direction or the other and my Quirk was not the safest in small spaces.

"May I?" My head tipped to the cloud forming at our feet, the wind holding it afloat ruffling our clothes and hair. Her eyes went from my hand to the cloud then back, analyzing, before she reached for support.

"My pleasure, Tamura."

Letting my Quirk loose was easy, making the wind howl and rain pour came without trouble. What did not come so readily to me was the finesse it took to not blow Suki and I away. To her, it felt as if we were floating with a breeze. My heartbeat was in my ears, my focus all on keeping the wind contained. It was bliss when our feet met the earth and the air rushed away without a trace.

"Thank you for that experience, Jasper."

"Of course," I whispered, looking up from the entrance where Asia and Raiden peered down from the halo of pure blue. Her flashlight flipped on and she looked around. A bird flew over, so high there wasn't a shadow as it passed.

Disembodied hands and disembodied voices came from all around.

"Who keeps bumping me?"

"Sanada, stop shining that in my eyes!"

"Sorry."

"You're really sweaty there."

"Everyone stay close." Our bodies moved in closer. Someone was mouth breathing.

"Mori and Tanami lead, Akihiko and I will follow."

I prayed the tunnel was not long. I did not enjoy small spaces. Even in a classroom I felt myself wishing to flee outside; into the air, into the sky, through the trees. Light crept towards the darkness from a cavern, hollowed out by forces of nature. The passage widened and brightened gradually until we could go no further, stepping into a chasm that dropped from heaven.

Ethereal.

That was the only word for what we were seeing, rocks jutting up deep from the ground. The sound of water flowing echoed in the chamber. What is this place? The thought was left unsaid, but floated in the air of our minds. With each movement of our flashlights, the walls glimmered and shined. The twins were the first to run their hands along the raw stones, tenderly and knowing.

"Snowflake obsidian with cristobalite inclusions," Akihiko said, inspecting a smaller gem on the ground. He poked around at some of the less exposed gems, roughly covered in sediment and dust. "Ruby veins... This is– or at least was– a volcanic gem playground."

"Who do we tell this to?" I asked, glancing over to Suki as I recalled her statement from the night before. Suki blinked a few times in thought, before giving a delicate shrug. Her eyes wandered along the shine and shimmer around us.

"I think we should leave it." Akihiko said over the discussion and bickering, without falter. His usual placid expression had softened, his eyes twinkling with awe. Tanami was the first to begin protesting, comfortable with disagreeing with her twin. But when he shook his head, his hair twinkling in the light, there was a look in his eye I couldn't place– a sadness I couldn't feel– that Tanami seemed to understand immediately. She was silenced. "There are so many things we touch, that maybe... we shouldn't. We destroy beauty in the name of beauty. If we put this place out there, it'll get exploited. You saw what happened to the park, what those villains did. Word gets out... and we're no better. These are the things worth fighting for. In the end... it will never be the same."

Everyone was silenced, mulling over his words.

"Also wouldn't it be kinda cool to know about a super secret place?" Hinata finally broke the moment of thought, a tinge of excitement in his voice. "Only we know about this!"

"Someday... we are going to be confided in with super secret information," I spoke slowly, thinking my words through. "We can start here."

"What happens at camp stays at camp!" Sakura cheered, clapping her hands together. "But... wouldn't it also be cool to take a small souvenir? Maybe we could use it as code one day. When we really need each other. As Pro-Heroes, we need to be able to count on each other."

"I'm on board." Tanami enthused, a small crystal already in the palm of her hand. Her eyes glimmered as she manipulated every fracture and crack, restructuring it into a flower– a carnation.

"Fine," Akihiko agreed, apprehensive despite the fact he was rooting around the ground. "We can all keep one."

I began to search for my own memoir, glancing around at everyone else. While the villains may have missed their treasure by the skin of their teeth, I felt as if I had found my own treasure. Aoi was next to me, struggling to pick just one that stood out to her with Argo– who was equally as indecisive. A little ways across the cavern was Tami, sitting on her heels as she prodded at regular rocks with Raiden kneeled down beside her. Silently, he extended his palm to her and she examined its contents with bright eyes. Tami's smile was soft, as was everything about her. Sugar and spice and everything nice.

It was a moment of wonder, watching those around me as they were.

"Everyone!" It took Raiden a moment to continue, surprised by the fact everyone's heads swiveled to him all at once. "Let's wrap it up and get going."

And we did. With a last glance we emerged from the tunnel, helping each other back up before deciding how to seal away the entrance we had accidentally created. Diligently we moved boulders, created plants, bent the earth to our wills until it appeared we had never been there at all. No markers to remind us where the spot or trail was and since a portion of the park had had havoc wreaked on it, it too would grow differently. Excitedly chattering, we continued on to the end of our trip.

Those villains had missed their treasure by the skin of their teeth and hopefully no one would be finding it soon. How exciting it would have been to find a national treasure of sorts, collecting information and history for the ages. Yet, Akihiko's view was powerful, too. It could be destroyed just as quickly. He sounded like a Pro Hero then, speaking with compassion and a desire to protect the things he valued. It was a fight he felt passionately about— a moving feeling to share, vulnerably.

I pondered about the things I felt the same way about. I wondered what the others felt that way about. A part of me hoped I could find out as I got to know everyone more.

When we filled the trollies, packed in with our bags and blankets in our seats there was an excited hum in my chest. A treasured feeling. Silver light streamed in from the window, casting peace on my peers' sleeping figures. Low whispers came from various ends of the bus. The stone I'd chosen had a dull sheen to it underneath its raw, dirt covered skin. I found myself grateful I'd come along. I'd like to think that throughout life, we find the things worth fighting for.

This chapter was written by sun_jin