Once Again From Better Days

At 5:38 am on the day they're scheduled to leave for summer camp, he gets a text from Izuku reminding him to pack, like he's the type of person to forget or slack off until the last minute. At 5:41 am, Izuku gets a text to f.u.c.k off until the sun is at least vaguely visible.

They arrive at UA a couple of hours later, with the summer sun high in the sky and only a few clouds for relief. The only person who got there ahead of them is Iida, standing at the door of the bus, ready to direct his classmates. Since the bus doesn't leave for another half an hour, after they stow their bags in the luggage compartment, they mill about aimlessly as they wait for everyone else to arrive.

Shinsou is among the earliest. He has a scarf around his neck despite the summer heat, and pulls it up as he approaches, giving Izuku a small nod as a greeting. Iida swoops in to make an introduction, and Izuku joins as an intermediary, which leaves Katsuki on the periphery. Which is fine, of course, but it does mean he's standing by himself and has no defense when Kirishima charges him on arrival.

"It's been so long!" Kirishima says, slapping him on the back.

Kaminari greets him from a more acceptable distance, and he shrugs the redhead off. 

"Oi, hair-for-brains, it's been two weeks," he snaps, accidentally glancing over to the Iida-Izuku-Shinsou conversation that's still going on.

Someone pats him on the shoulder.

"That's rough, buddy," Kaminari says.

"You could go join them," Kirishima says.

"Shut the hell up, go away," Katsuki responds.

Eventually, the rest of 1-A shows up. They board the bus, and somehow he ends sandwiched between Kirishima and the wall with Sero and Kaminari in the row ahead.

Kaminari rests his elbows on the seatback. "Do you want to know what they're doing?" He asks, glancing at the row behind Katsuki where Izuku sits with his General Department friend.

Katsuki fights the urge to look. It doesn't matter. He can hear them talking, and Izuku can talk to his friends or whatever. "Shut the hell up," he tells Kaminari.

The blond tilts his head, lightning bolt falling to one side. "You know, it's cute how–"

Sero elbows him in the side. 

Kaminari ends up with his face pressed up against the glass. "Oh, Jirou!" He starts waving enthusiastically, and Katsuki breathes a sigh of relief as the focus switches away from Izuku.

The bus ride is mostly uneventful. No one gets motion sick, at least, and while he does half-pay attention to the weight-training videos Kirishima is trying to show him, his mind remains stuck on Izuku. Who is so close. But sitting with Shinsou. Which, he should emphasize, is fine and doesn't bother him at all.

"Dude," Kirishima says, interrupting his inner monologue. "You lowkey look like you want to blow something up, which is, like, not that unusual, but are you okay?"

"Fine." Katsuki says. "How many push-ups can you do?" It's a bullshit question, but it is also the only question he can think of to change the topic.

Kirishima, thankfully, plays along, mumbling as he tries to count.

Katsuki looks out the window, trying to let the scenery flashing past distract him. 

After too many hours cramped into vaguely uncomfortable seats, the bus arrives. The landscape appears devoid of civilization and that includes any sign of a training camp. Katsuki feels a sinking in his stomach, just as Aizawa stands up to make an announcement before they debark.

"Your destination is that way," he says gesturing toward the edge of a cliff and a thick forest of trees. "Look out for the animals." In a monotone, he adds "Good luck, have fun."

"Oh actually, you should meet your camp counselors first."

They get off the bus and are faced by a bunch of people that look vaguely like magical girls with cat ears on their heads. Izuku recognizes them immediately, of course. And mutters their name a moment before they strike a pose and announce it themselves.

"We're the Wild, Wild P.u.s.s.ycats!"