The camp's main building was traditional but spacious, with separate boys' and girls' dormitories, a large dining hall, and several communal areas. After a quick lunch, the Pussycats gathered everyone outside.

  "Alright, students!" Pixie-Bob announced with entirely too much enthusiasm for someone who'd just made them fight through a forest. "Time to establish your baseline! We need to see exactly how much your Quirks have grown since you started at UA!"

  She gestured to an open area behind the building—a massive training ground with various zones marked out.

  "You'll each demonstrate your Quirk's maximum output! We'll measure improvement and identify areas that need work!"

  The class lined up as Pixie-Bob called names one by one.

  Todoroki created a mountain of ice, then melted it with flames, the temperature differential creating a localized weather system.

  Kaminari released his maximum electrical discharge—1.3 million volts—but still went into his "whey" mode afterward.

  Ashido demonstrated improved acid control, creating complex shapes and varying the corrosiveness with precision.

  When Katsuki's turn came, he stepped forward with his characteristic confidence.

  "Maximum output, huh?" He grinned fiercely. "WATCH THIS!"

  He aimed his hands at the sky and unleashed his most powerful explosion yet. The blast was deafening, creating a shockwave that rattled windows and sent birds fleeing from nearby trees. A mushroom cloud of smoke and debris rose into the air.

  "IMPRESSIVE!" Pixie-Bob shouted over the ringing in everyone's ears. "Your explosive power has increased by approximately forty percent since the Sports Festival!"

  Katsuki smirked as he returned to the group, his hands still smoking. As he passed Boa, he muttered, "Your turn to show off."

  When her name was called, Boa stepped forward calmly.

  "What's your maximum range for petrification?" Pixie-Bob asked, clipboard ready.

  "For Slave Arrow, approximately fifty meters with controllable accuracy."

  "Show us!"

  Boa took a breath, centered herself, and raised her hand. She kissed her fingertip and formed the bow motion, the large glowing heart materializing between her finger and her drawing hand.

  "Slave Arrow."

  She released the imaginary bowstring.

  Over a hundred heart-shaped arrows burst forth in a devastating barrage, filling the air like a swarm of pink fireflies. They spread across the training ground in a wide arc, each one seeking a different target—rocks, training dummies, obstacles.

  Everywhere the arrows landed, petrification spread instantly. Within seconds, the entire training ground was dotted with gray stone statues and petrified objects.

  The class stared in stunned silence.

  "That's..." Pixie-Bob checked her notes. "That's at least triple the output you showed at the Sports Festival! And the range is incredible!"

  "I've been training," Boa said simply.

  "Clearly!" Pixie-Bob's enthusiasm was genuine. "Can you reverse it?"

  "Mezameyo."

  Boa brought her hand to her lips and kissed the air. Dozens of tiny hearts floated from her lips, spreading across the training ground like cherry blossoms on the wind. Wherever they touched the petrified objects, the stone began to crack and recede.

  Within twenty seconds, everything was restored to normal.

  "AMAZING!" Pixie-Bob was practically vibrating with excitement. "The reversal technique is new too! You've developed an entire system!"

  As Boa returned to her classmates, she felt multiple eyes on her. Ashido was grinning proudly. Yaoyorozu looked impressed. Midoriya was frantically scribbling in his notebook.

  And Katsuki was watching her with something that might have been pride, or possessiveness, or both.

  "Show off," he muttered when she passed, but he was smiling.

  "I learned from the best," she replied, echoing their earlier exchange.

  The baseline testing continued through the afternoon. By the time everyone had demonstrated their maximum output, it was clear that the entire class had grown significantly since entering UA.

  "Excellent work, everyone!" Mandalay announced. "Now comes the hard part. For the rest of the week, you'll be pushing your Quirks beyond their current limits. We're going to break you down and build you back up stronger!"

  "That sounds ominous," Kaminari whispered.

  "It should!" Pixie-Bob said cheerfully. "Now, dinner is at six. Until then, you're free to explore the camp grounds—but stay within the designated safe zone. There are wild animals in these mountains, and we don't want anyone getting lost or hurt before training even begins!"

  The class dispersed. Some headed to their rooms to unpack properly. Others explored the camp facilities. Boa noticed Midoriya slipping away toward the forest—probably looking for the boy, Kota.

  Katsuki appeared beside her. "Training Ground Beta equivalent?"

  "There's a clearing behind the east dormitory. I saw it when we arrived."

  "Perfect. Give me ten minutes to drop off my stuff."

  They met at the clearing fifteen minutes later. It was smaller than their usual training ground at UA, but private and surrounded by dense forest.

  "Alright," Katsuki said, already stretching. "We've got a week here. We need to develop at least two new combination techniques."

  "Agreed. What did you have in mind?"

  "I've been thinking about your Mezameyo technique. You can reverse petrification at range now, right?"

  This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

  "Yes. Up to forty meters with multiple targets."

  "What if we use that offensively?" Katsuki's eyes gleamed with tactical inspiration. "I petrify enemies with your help, then you selectively reverse some of them—the weaker ones, the ones who'll panic and break formation. Suddenly the enemy team is fighting both us and their own chaos."

  Boa's analytical mind immediately grasped the strategy. "Psychological warfare combined with tactical division. We create internal conflict within enemy forces."

  "Exactly. We call it... Chaos Stone? No, that's stupid."

  "Stone Chaos?"

  "Still stupid."

  "We'll workshop the name later. Let's test the execution."

  They spent the next hour practicing. Katsuki would create explosive diversions while Boa petrified training dummies. Then she'd selectively reverse some while leaving others frozen, forcing Katsuki to adapt his attack patterns on the fly.

  It was complex, requiring absolute communication and trust. They had to be perfectly synchronized—one mistimed reversal and Katsuki might blast a petrified dummy that was about to be restored, or Boa might restore an enemy Katsuki was using as cover.

  "BEHIND YOU!" Katsuki shouted.

  Boa didn't question, didn't hesitate. She dropped and rolled, trusting his call. His explosion sailed over her head, destroying a training dummy that had somehow ended up in her blind spot.

  "Thanks."

  "Always got your back."

  They continued training until the dinner bell rang across the camp.

  Dinner was a chaotic affair with both Class 1-A and 1-B present. The dining hall was loud with conversation and laughter.

  Boa sat with Katsuki, Kirishima, Ashido, and Sero. The conversation was light—discussing the day's baseline testing, speculating about tomorrow's training, complaining about sore muscles.

  "Hancock, your Slave Arrow was insane!" Kirishima said enthusiastically. "You hit like fifty targets at once!"

  "One hundred and twelve, actually," Boa corrected.

  "See, that's insane! How do you even control that many arrows?"

  "Practice. And emotional focus. Each arrow carries a portion of my emotional projection, so I have to maintain clarity across all of them simultaneously."

  "That sounds mentally exhausting," Sero observed.

  "It is. But it's getting easier with training."

  "You and Bakugo train together every night, right?" Ashido asked with a knowing smile. "I bet that helps."

  "We push each other to improve," Boa said carefully.

  "Is that what we're calling it?" Ashido's grin was mischievous.

  Katsuki kicked her under the table. "Shut up, Raccoon Eyes."

  "OW! Rude!"

  Despite the bickering, there was warmth in the exchange. This was friendship, Boa realized. Teasing and support and acceptance all mixed together.

  After dinner, Pixie-Bob announced the schedule for the next day: "Quirk training from six AM to noon, lunch, then practical rescue scenarios until dinner! And trust me, we're not going easy on you!"

  The class groaned collectively.

  That evening, as students prepared for bed, Boa found herself on the girls' dormitory balcony, looking out at the dark forest. The stars were incredible here, away from city lights—thousands of them scattered across the sky.

  "Can't sleep?"

  She turned to find Yaoyorozu stepping onto the balcony.

  "Just thinking," Boa said.

  "About tomorrow's training? Or about the League?" Yaoyorozu joined her at the railing.

  "Both. This camp feels... exposed. Remote. If the League wanted to attack..."

  "I know." Yaoyorozu's expression was serious. "I've been thinking the same thing. But we have multiple pro heroes here, and the location is supposed to be secret."

  "'Supposed to be' are the operative words."

  They stood in silence for a moment.

  "Hancock," Yaoyorozu said carefully, "I wanted to ask—you and Bakugo. You've become very close."

  Boa tensed slightly. "We're training partners."

  "I think you're more than that." Yaoyorozu's tone was gentle, not prying. "And I'm glad. You've both changed since you started working together. Become stronger, but also... softer. More open."

  Boa didn't know how to respond to that.

  "I'm not asking you to confirm anything," Yaoyorozu continued. "I just wanted you to know that if you are together, the class supports it. We all see how good you are for each other."

  "Thank you," Boa said quietly. "That means more than you know."

  Yaoyorozu smiled and headed back inside. "Get some rest. Tomorrow will be intense."

  Boa stayed on the balcony a while longer, processing the conversation. The class supports it. Somehow, without her noticing, she'd gone from an outsider to someone whose happiness mattered to her classmates.

  A message from Katsuki lit up her phone: Stop overthinking on the balcony and go to sleep.

  How did you know I was on the balcony?

  Because I know you. Also I can see you from the guys' side. Kinda obvious standing in the light like that.

  Boa looked across the courtyard and spotted a figure in one of the boys' windows. She waved. He waved back.

  Go to sleep, Empress. Tomorrow we're going to destroy everyone else's training times.

  Confidence looks good on you.

  Everything looks good on me.

  Insufferable.

  You like it.

  She did. She really did.

  Good night, Katsuki.

  Night, Boa.

  She went inside and prepared for bed, feeling more settled than she had since arriving. Tomorrow would bring challenges, but she was ready.

  And if the League did come, she wouldn't face them alone.

  The next morning arrived with brutal efficiency.

  "WAKE UP!" Pixie-Bob's voice blared through speakers at exactly 5:30 AM. "TRAINING STARTS IN THIRTY MINUTES! IF YOU'RE LATE, YOU DON'T EAT!"

  The girls' dormitory erupted in groans and frantic scrambling.

  Boa was already awake, dressed, and ready. She'd never needed much sleep, and her internal clock was precise.

  By 5:55, the entire class was assembled outside, looking varying degrees of conscious.

  "Good morning!" Mandalay said cheerfully. "Today, each of you will work on your specific Quirk weaknesses with individualized training! We've analyzed your baseline tests and identified exactly where you need improvement!"

  She began reading assignments:

  "Todoroki—you'll work on using both sides of your Quirk simultaneously without the temperature differential harming you!"

  "Kaminari—increasing your voltage output without short-circuiting your brain!"

  "Bakugo—you'll be sitting in boiling water to increase your sweat production for more powerful explosions!"

  Katsuki's eye twitched. "Boiling water? You're kidding."

  "Not even a little!" Pixie-Bob grinned. "Don't worry, we'll start at hot tub temperatures and work our way up!"

  "And Hancock—" Mandalay consulted her notes "—you'll be working on rapid-fire Slave Arrow deployment while maintaining accuracy. We want you firing multiple barrages in quick succession without losing precision."

  Boa nodded. That was a genuine weakness—she could fire powerful single barrages, but sustained combat with multiple waves was draining.

  The class split up to their individual training stations.

  Boa's area had hundreds of targets scattered across different elevations and distances, some stationary, some on mechanical tracks that moved them unpredictably.

  "Your goal," Pixie-Bob explained, "is to hit at least seventy percent of all targets with three consecutive Slave Arrow barrages, each barrage fired within ten seconds of the previous one. Ready?"

  "Yes."

  "BEGIN!"

  Boa raised her hand, kissed her fingertip, formed the bow. "Slave Arrow!"

  The first barrage flew out—one hundred arrows striking targets across the field. Seventy-three hits.

  Immediately, before she'd recovered from the first technique, she formed another. "Slave Arrow!"

  This one was weaker—only eighty arrows, and her accuracy had dropped to sixty-one percent. Her emotional focus was already wavering.

  The third barrage was even worse. Sixty arrows, fifty-two percent accuracy.

  "Not good enough!" Pixie-Bob called. "The problem is you're treating each barrage as a separate technique. You need to maintain continuous emotional flow, not start fresh each time!"

  Boa understood intellectually but implementing it was different. She'd always treated her techniques as discrete actions—form, execute, rest, repeat. Maintaining constant emotional projection was like keeping a flame burning instead of repeatedly striking matches.

  "Again!"

  She tried a different approach. Instead of fully releasing her emotional focus between barrages, she kept it simmering, ready to flare up again immediately.

  "Slave Arrow!" First barrage—ninety-eight arrows, seventy-six percent accuracy.

  "Slave Arrow!" Second barrage—ninety-two arrows, seventy-one percent accuracy.

  "Slave Arrow!" Third barrage—eighty-seven arrows, sixty-nine percent accuracy.

  "Better! But you dropped below seventy percent on the third! Again!"

  This continued for three hours. Fire, assess, adjust, fire again. Her arms ached from the repeated bow motions. Her mind felt like it had been wrung out from maintaining continuous emotional projection.

  But slowly, steadily, she improved.

  By the time Pixie-Bob called for a break, Boa could fire three consecutive barrages—ninety-plus arrows each—with seventy-five percent accuracy across all three.

  She collapsed on the ground, breathing hard.

  "Excellent progress!" Pixie-Bob said. "Take fifteen minutes, then we're going for four barrages in a row!"

  Nearby, she could hear Katsuki's creative cursing as he sat in what was apparently very hot water. Further away, Todoroki was creating massive ice walls and immediately melting them, trying to use both sides simultaneously without the backlash.

  Everyone was suffering.

  Everyone was growing.

  This was going to be a long week.