Villains Attack

"Damn it, if it's this kind of bus, there's no point!"

Iida had imagined a school bus with two rows of seats on either side, but the one at school was a city bus that stopped at every stop. Two rows of seats were placed against the walls at the front, leaving a large open area for standing passengers.

Jilan Jiyu sat beside Midoriya, with Tenya Iida across from them, kneeling on the floor with tears streaming down his face.

Mina Ashido smiled and dealt him a crushing blow. "All that enthusiasm went to waste..."

Tsuyu Asui suddenly turned to Midoriya, who was sitting beside her. "I'm the type who says whatever comes to mind, Midoriya-chan."

"Huh? Asui?!" Midoriya was a little flustered to hear Asui address him so familiarly.

"Call me Tsuyu-chan." Tsuyu Asui went straight to the point. "Your Quirk is a lot like All Might's."

"I-i-i... is it?" Midoriya was too flustered to get the words out. "But I... um..."

"Wait, Tsuyu-chan, All Might doesn't get hurt. I'd say they only seem similar on the surface, right?"

Midoriya breathed a sigh of relief when he heard Eijiro Kirishima clear him of suspicion, then listened as Kirishima continued, "Still, a simple, straightforward enhancement Quirk like that is great. You can pull off all kinds of flashy stuff with it."

Kirishima struck a bodybuilding pose and used his Quirk, hardening his arm. "My Hardening is definitely strong against people, but it looks a little too plain."

"No, I think it's really cool!" Midoriya said, stars in his eyes. "It's a really popular kind of Quirk, even among Pro Heroes!"

Popular?

Jilan Jiyu thought of the person he had seen during the entrance exam, whose whole body had become like steel after he used his Quirk. He was probably a Class B student. Jilan Jiyu had seen him in the cafeteria before, apparently being scolded by a girl.

Honestly, once someone with an unremarkable ability like that became a Pro Hero, they would be stuck doing odd jobs at best. They couldn't beat powerful villains, while using them against weak ones was overkill. They were neither the best nor the worst, and could only spend their lives as useful laborers.

Jilan Jiyu didn't need to tell him these harsh realities of society. Once he entered the workforce, society could teach him that lesson itself.

There were exceptions, though. If someone accomplished heroic deeds as a student, they would at least become a somewhat well-known hero in the future... like Bakugo.

Somehow, Bakugo and Kaminari had gotten into a war of words. Though calling it that wasn't quite right: against Kaminari's sharp tongue, honed by years spent online, Bakugo could only take the insults.

"People could see your shitty personality from a mile away, and they don't even know you that well. That's impressive."

"You bastard, what kind of comparison is that? Watch it, or I'll kill you!"

Iida looked at Jilan Jiyu questioningly, as if asking whether he was going to stop them.

Jilan Jiyu shook his head. Even Mr. Aizawa, sitting in the front row, didn't care, so he might as well let them argue. Besides, Uraraka and the others were watching with great interest as Bakugo, who usually lorded it over everyone, was verbally pushed around. Why disturb them?

"You bastard!"

Just as Katsuki Bakugo was about to explode, Mr. Aizawa, who was sitting in the front row, suddenly stood up.

"We're here. Get off."

Bakugo forcibly held back his anger. "If we get to fight later, I'll make you pay!"

Not to be outdone, Kaminari taunted him. "You think I'd care about a threat like the kind a villain makes when he's been chased off?!"

Jilan Jiyu picked up the bulky helmet beside him and silently moved away from them.

Enough already... stupidity is contagious.

"This is amazing! So this is USJ!"

Standing at the entrance to USJ, the excited students exclaimed in amazement.

It was like a massive ecological theme park, covering an area the size of an amusement park. The Unforeseen Simulation Joint (Utopian Shogai Jikoba), or USJ for short, contained six training areas: the "storm and heavy rain zone," the "flood zone," the "fire zone," the "mountain zone," the "landslide zone," and the "collapse zone."

"This is a training ground I made, designed with every kind of accident and disaster in mind." A teacher wearing a bulky spacesuit spoke, the voice coming through an intercom in the sealed helmet, making it impossible to tell the teacher's gender.

"Wow, it's the Space Hero Thirteen, the gentleman hero who's super active in disaster relief!"

"It's Thirteen, my favorite!"

Mr. Thirteen seemed incredibly popular. Uraraka nodded vigorously, wearing the excited expression of someone who had just seen her idol.

Thirteen was the number Westerners considered most unlucky, symbolizing disaster and misfortune. Judas, the disciple who betrayed Jesus, had been the thirteenth person at the supper. Yet the teacher before them used Thirteen as his hero name, signifying that he would use his own hands to absorb all misfortune and disaster. He was also a Pro Hero Jilan Jiyu admired.

"Something came up for Mr. All Might, so he might arrive a little later. Now then... before we officially begin, I have one point, two points... six points, seven points to go over..."

After whispering with Shota Aizawa and confirming a few things, he began his lesson.

"I imagine you've all heard of me. My Quirk is 'Black Hole.' It can absorb and crush anything," he said. "This power can be used in any rescue, but it can also kill people with ease. I imagine some of you have Quirks like that too."

The students all fell silent, listening quietly to Thirteen.

"In our current 'superhuman' society, at first glance, it seems to have been established by strictly controlling the use of Quirks through a licensing system. But if you take one wrong step, you can easily kill someone. All of you possess Quirks that are extreme in this way, so please keep that in mind.

"I believe that after Mr. Aizawa's physical fitness test, you all understand the potential hidden within your own powers. Through All Might's combat training, you've also experienced firsthand how dangerous your powers can be when used against others.

"In this class, I want you to change your mindsets and learn how to make the most of your Quirks to save others. Your powers don't exist to hurt people; they exist to save them. I hope you'll understand that by the end of this class.

"That's all. Thank you for listening."

Thirteen ended his speech with a gentlemanly bow.

Shaken by his speech, everyone grew excited. This was how a Pro Hero should act and speak, and he completely outdid the irresponsible Shota Aizawa! They even began thinking they wanted to replace their teacher.

"That was amazing!"

"As expected of Thirteen!"

Jilan Jiyu said nothing. Although he knew he wasn't the kind of person Thirteen was talking about, his heart still felt heavy. He felt as though the firefighting suit, which wasn't all that heavy, was about to crush him.

He had put on this suit for rescue work. Although he had a powerful Quirk similar to Thirteen's, one that could easily kill someone without leaving a trace, he didn't share his conviction.

In his heart, his Quirk had been borrowed from the serial killer Yoshikage Kira, and all it could do was kill. He instinctively hid his ability, not wanting the police to come questioning him every time someone went missing. He only wanted to live an ordinary life and be a hero for fun.

Just as I thought, I'm not fit to be a hero at all...

Leaning against the wall, Shota Aizawa heard that he had finished speaking and said, "All right, first..."

Before he had finished speaking, the ceiling lights suddenly dimmed in the direction he was pointing.

"You can do magic, Mr. Aizawa?!"

Jilan Jiyu, who had been marveling at Aizawa's trick, suddenly noticed that something was off about his expression. Looking in the direction Aizawa was staring, he sharply spotted a round black shadow by the fountain in the middle of USJ, writhing continuously as though it were connected to outer space.

A hand suddenly reached out, and then he vaguely saw a face with a hand hanging over it suddenly appear in the middle of the black mist!

"Everyone, gather together and don't move!" Shota Aizawa stood in front of them, holding one arm out to shield the crowd behind him. "Thirteen, protect the students!"

The round black mist rapidly expanded into a space as wide as a wall, blocking the fountain behind it from view.

People emerged from the black mist one after another, every one of them dressed in bizarre clothes. They didn't look like ordinary civilians at all, but more like... villains!

"What's that?" Kirishima held a hand above his eyes like a monkey and looked toward the group. "Is this another setup like the entrance exam, where it starts without warning us?!"

"Don't move!" Midoriya had just started to take a step forward when Shota Aizawa called him to a halt. Unusually grave, he put on the goggles hanging around his neck. "They're villains."