PUPPET // KATSUKI BAKUGO [1]

Chapter 33 // Blame

You wiped your brow to rid the beads of sweat that were rolling down your forehead, and wiped your hands on your pants as you panted.

You had been training all day along with the rest of your classmates. However, you did more laps than anything. You didn't get to do physical combat or tons of quirk training due to your injury.

Despite that, you had been working just as long and hard as the others, and now you were dreading what was to come next since it was dark and Aizawa had another exercise to explain.

"Class B will be on the offensive first," the hero explained. "Class A will head into the forest in teams of two, one team every three minutes. You'll find cards at the halfway point. You'll grab your own, and come back here. The scarers aren't allowed to make direct contact. They'll simply be using their quirks to startle you as best they can. We'll draw slots to pick the teams. Beware that, since there's an odd number of students, one person will go alone."

"I'll go alone," you spoke while holding up your hand.

"Alright," Aizawa nodded. "Everyone else will draw slots."

As Class B headed off into the woods, Class A drew slots. You stood off to the side and observed.

You didn't want to be in a team if Mina or Midoriya wasn't your partner since they were the only two you could tolerate, and the chance of picking the same numbered paper as one of them was low. You'd rather just play it safe and go alone then end up with a partner who would make the exercise miserable.

Once all the teams were decided, Team One, Tokoyami and Shoji, was sent off into the woods. Every three minutes, another team headed off until the only person left was you.

"Alright, you're up," Aizawa said upon checking his watch about three minutes after the last team headed in.

You let out a tired sigh as you headed into the woods, using the paved dirt pathway as a guide, so you wouldn't get lost. You walked for five minutes before abruptly stopping when an odd scent greeted your nose.

You sniffed the air, cringing at the smell of smoke before looking around. Your eyes eventually traveled upward, and they grew wide upon seeing the blue fire that was in the process of destroying numerous trees, spreading rapidly throughout the woods.

'That couldn't have been caused from one of our quirks,' you thought as you spun around and began to run back the way you came, figuring it'd be best to head back to the lodge.

However, before you could get too far, a figure stumbled out from the trees and into your path. You abruptly stopped, almost subconsciously falling into a fighting stance as you couldn't decipher who the person was due to the darkness.

"[L/N]! Finally, I found someone."

You sighed in relief when you heard Uraraka's voice before the brunette stumbled out of the shadows.

"What's going on?" you asked. "Is there a villain attack?"

"I think so," Uraraka nodded. "We should get back to the lodge. We don't know how many villains could be running around. I'm sure everyone else is heading there."

"Yeah, let's get back. I have a bad feeling about this," you confessed.

"Yeah," Uraraka agreed with a short nod before she wiped her forehead with the back of her hand before walking past you.

Your brows furrowed in confusion as you glanced over your shoulder at the brunette, who was walking in the opposite direction of the lodge.

'Could that not be Uraraka?' you thought. 'Or did she just get turned around?'