"Yaoyorozu," I ask, "why did you want to be class president? Don't you find this stressful?"
Without hesitation, she answers, without a single shred of doubt.
"I think it suits me. I want to contribute to our class and support everyone as best as I can. And being class president allows me to do that."
' That's it, hmm? I can't say I'm really surprised by her answer.'
"Not for benefits? But to support the class."
She smiles before replying,
"The perks are great, sure. But I'm more interested in helping my classmates."
Then, she turns the question back on me.
"What about you?" Her gaze sharpens slightly, analyzing me.
"You were there; I got elected and accepted the post. I'm just following what everyone decided ." I let out a quiet sigh as I reminded her flatly.
"Then why are you taking it so seriously? You even came earlier!” she asked, not convinced by me.
I blink.
"You're making too big of a deal out of this; it's not that serious. I just did what needed to be done."
“I could just refuse… but I don't really see a reason to. And since I accepted, I should take the role seriously, don't you think?”
Momo chuckles softly,
"If that's true, then you're even more suited for the position than I thought."
She said, complimenting me.
We continued this lighthearted exchange as the other students started arriving.
….
Eventually, time passed by quickly, reaching 12:30 PM, starting hero class.
“Today, we'll have a special class that All Might, I, and one other will oversee.” Aizawa declared, standing on the podium with his arms crossed.
Sero raised his hand,
"Sensei, what will we be doing exactly?"
"I wasn't finished. We'll be preparing you for disaster relief, everything from fires to floods, and more. It's rescue training.”
Everyone was overjoyed at the news, with them whispering to each other in excitement; however, Aizawa's glares silenced everyone
"It's up to you whether you want to wear your costumes or not, as some of them aren't appropriate for this type of activity." He elaborated. "Because the training site is a little out of the way, we'll be taking the bus. That's all, get ready."
After leaving the building, we gathered close to the parking entrance to wait for the bus to arrive. We were all in our hero costumes, except for Midoriya since he ruined his during the previous basic training on his fight against Bakugo.
We then heard Aizawa's voice from behind us.
"The bus is here; it's time to get in, so get moving."
As the class representative, Momo and I placed ourselves ahead of everyone else to keep order while making them line up to enter the bus.
"Everyone, please line up according to your I.D. numbers and take your seats in an orderly fashion," Yaoyorozu announced.
Then, as everyone got seated, we took off campus.
….
After a few minutes inside the bus, my classmates began to make small talk as Tsuyu, seated across me, asked,
"Hey, can I talk to you, Arata?"
I nodded my head as I turned to her.
"Yes, Asui, do you need something?"
"You can call me Tsuyu." She told me as she asked bluntly, tilting her head,
"Previously, you said that your quirk was similar to Tokoyami’s dark shadow. I want to know if it always stays by your side, or do you only call it when you need it? it"
Hearing her question, I explained myself as we started to gain attention,
"Yes. As you know, my Quirk summons an invisible construct for me to use. The thing is, the longer it stays with me, the stronger it becomes. So most of the time I have it by my side, I only let it dissipate when it's inconvenient to have by me.”
‘ Even right now, the black ghost is following the bus by flying.’
"So does it mean that your quirk is always activated?"
"Ha! I wish it was that easy, though. But yes, I try to maintain it as much as possible. After all, practice makes perfect."
Tsuyu couldn't help but stare at me, and while I was wondering what she was thinking, Kirishima entered the conversation.
"Man, I bet it must be cool to have a powerful quirk like that. My hardening is super strong and can destroy bad guys in a fight, but it doesn't look that impressive."
He said with a disappointed tone as he activated his quirk,
" You don't have to short-sell yourself so much, you know. Your Quirk may not be flashy, but it fits the standard for a pro-hero."
He smiled, seeing I tried to give him some words of encouragement as he pointed out,
"Fit for a pro, huh? You must think about popularity too, you know. And if you want to talk about flashy and cool? That'd be Todoroki and Bakugo."
At the mention of Bakugo, Tsuyu shook her head and said,
"Sure, his quirk is flashy, but Bakugo is always angry, and with his attitude, he'd never be popular."
Bakugo, hearing our conversation, started yelling from the front seat,
"Graah!! What'd you say, frog face?!"
She simply replied by pointing at him, "See."
"Shut it, Bakugo. No one wants to hear you yelling.”
“You damned fish eyes, don't you dare give me orders"
Bakugo said that but still stopped yelling.
"If we are talking about strong quirks, you have to mention Midoriya. His quirk is similar to All Might's, don't you think?"
"Y-you think so? But…uh…I" Midoriya started to stutter and panicked at the mention of him and All Might.
Before he had any time to contradict her, Kirishima talked.
"Yeah, but All Might never gets hurt! Let alone hurting himself like Midoriya!"
"You are right, that's where the likeness ends!" Tsuyu agreed.
We heard Aizawa announce.
"We're here. Quiet down.”
The bus comes to a stop, and we step into the USJ.
Gasps and exclamations erupt as the sight of different disaster-simulated terrains stretches before us.
"WHOOOAAAA!!" The class shouts collectively.
I can't help but admire the scene. Seeing it in person is far more impressive than in the manga.
"Today is the first day of rescue training for all of you. This part of the course will be held here, and your teacher for this section will be the hero Thirteen." Aizawa-sensei presented his fellow teacher.
"I will let her introduce herself.”
"Thank you. Hello, everyone. I've been waiting for you! I am Thirteen, one of Japan's top rescue heroes. Welcome to the Unforeseen Simulation Joint, abbreviated as USJ." The space hero made a grand bow.
"The USJ was designed to simulate a variety of common disasters that can occur and deal with future types of accidents. We have a destroyed urban environment to simulate the aftermath of a major villain attack in a city, a landslide area, a mountainous region to simulate people lost and cut off in the mountains, an urban zone to simulate a fire that has spread out of control over a city, even shipwrecks, landslides, windstorms, and more." She said,
The students stood in awe of the size and scope of the USJ.
After Thirteen finished introducing the USJ, she told us about her quirk, blackhole, which is an incredible tool for rescue but equally dangerous if misused, and how she chose to use it for rescue instead. She also told us that our quirks could easily kill, and emphasized the importance of learning to wield our quirks responsibly, ensuring they serve to help rather than harm.
"And that is all! I thank you for listening." She bows, concluding her speech.
Her explanation was met with applause from the students.
Aizawa-sensei walks towards the space hero. "Thirteen, where's All Might? He was supposed to meet us here."
Thirteen walks closer, leans in and whispers something to Eraser Head. As expected, All Might is temporarily in his weakened state.
I heard Aizawa ask as he approached the space hero. They briefly talked to each other, and then she raised three fingers.
Aizawa then sighs. "Talk about the height of irrationality. Shall we begin?"
‘I suppose All Might has overtaxed himself and couldn't make it.’
"Alright, since it can't be helped. Let's get started," Aizawa sighed in annoyance as he turned towards us.
"First off—"
He suddenly stopped, his attention snapping toward the center of the USJ building.
A swirling mass of black smoke materialized. It grew until it became a black portal from which dozens of villains, including Shigaraki, came out.
‘ Seems like the show is about to begin. I wonder, should I kill Shigaraki? If I take him by surprise, I could take his head off.’
‘ Hmm, better let him go for now. I don't want to find out what One For All would do if his master plan is stopped so soon. I'll satisfy myself with an arm or his leg for the time being.’
"Is this part of the exercise, Sensei?" Kirishima looks at the group.
"No." He frowned and grimly added
"Stay back; those guys are the real deal; they are villains."