A /N: I commissioned the wonderful spokifing for a lineart piece of Hikari! It can be found on the Quotev and Wattpad versions of this fic. She's on Instagram, go check out her art!
"Today's training will be a little different."
It was the next day, and the frenzy from the security breach had died down. Hikari sat at attention and listened to the hero exercise Aizawa was explaining to 1-A.
"You'll have three instructors: me, All, Might, and another faculty member will be keeping tabs on you," he continued, making Hikari pause in thought. 'Three heroes…? Who could the third one be?'
"Sir! What kind of training is this?" asked Sero, who sat at Hikari's right. In response, Aizawa held up a card that said 'RESCUE' in large, blue letters. "You'll be dealing with natural disasters, shipwrecks, stuff like that," the teacher explained. Murmurs of excitement rose from the class.
"Disasters, huh? Sounds like we're in for a big workout."
"Real hero stuff! This is what separates the men from the boys. I'm shaking with excitement!"
"Finally I'll get to show off how good I am in water, ribbit."
"Guys, I'm not finished yet," interrupted Aizawa, silencing the class. "What you wear in this exercise is up to you. I know you're excited about costumes." At the press of a button, the numbered cases emerged from the wall again. "But keep in mind that you haven't gotten used to them yet, and they might limit your abilities. This special training is at an off-campus facility, so we'll be getting a bus to get there. That's all, start getting ready."
When Aizawa finished, Hikari and the rest of 1-A rose from their seats. Hikari walked over to her locker, but paused when Midoriya was the only one still in his seat. She returned and tapped his shoulder. "Hey, we gotta get going," she told him. At her touch, he was visibly rattled out of his thoughts. "Uh, yeah!"
/
Hikari chose to wear her hero costume, and so did the rest of the class. Everyone, that is, except for Midoriya, who wore his support items with his gym clothes.
"Midoriya? Why are you wearing your P.E clothes? Where's your costume at?" asked Ochako.
"You saw it after the combat training," the greenette awkwardly chuckled. "It was kind of trashed. I'm still waiting for the support company to fix it up."
Hikari hummed in agreement. "Maybe it'll be done so that you can wear it the next time we have hero practice, you can sport your new costume!" Before Midoriya could say anything, a shrill whistle pierced the air. "Gather 'round, class 1-A!" Of course; it was none other than Iida.
"Using your student numbers, form two neat lines so we can load the bus efficiently!" he commanded with another tweet on his whistle.
"He really was born for this class rep stuff," Hikari weakly chuckled. Ochako and Midoriya nodded in agreement.
/
As it turned out, there was no need for orderly lines; the bus' layout was just like a city bus, unlike the charter bus Iida had envisioned, with the seats in an unorthodox fashion. By the time Hikari boarded the bus, the only seat left was the one next to Shoto Todoroki. She carefully eyed the white-and-red-haired boy, who was taking a light nap.
'If I remember correctly, I heard that he got in through recommendations. He is pretty powerful, back when we did that heroes versus villains thing… all that ice!'
Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard a roar. "WHAT DID YOU SAY?! I'LL KICK YOUR ASS!"
'Why's Explodo-pants mad this time…' Hikari sighed to herself. She straightened in her seat to listen further.
"You know, we basically just met you, so it's kinda telling that your personality is flaming crap mixed with garbage," Hikari heard Kaminari tell the ash-blond, which only made him lash out even more threats.
"YOU'RE GONNA REGRET THE DAY YOU APPLIED TO THIS SCHOOL, YOU LOSER!"
Todoroki was finally roused from his sleep, and he appeared to be confused by Bakugou's yelling. "He's just getting a taste of his own medicine," Hikari whispered to him. He blinked in understanding and he closed his eyes again.
"Hey, hey, we're here," Aizawa called from the front of the bus, "Stop messing around." A chorus of yes, sirs rang out and the bus was calmer as they came to a stop.
/
"Hello, everyone! I've been waiting for you!"
Standing in front of the U.A students was The Space Hero: Thirteen donned in their hero suit. Hikari could barely hear Midoriya's rambling. She was currently being shaken back and forth by an over enthusiastic Ochako.
"Hikari, look, look! It's Thirteen!"
"Yeah, yeah, I get it, Ochako. Now stop shaking me 'fore I hurl my breakfast—"
"I can't wait to show you what's inside," they continued, and led the class inside the dome-shaped building. The grandiose exterior did not disappoint what awaited for them inside.
"Holy crap! It's like an amusement park!" Hikari shouted. Inside was a small lake with an askew ship, a landslide, a contained fire, a windstorm within a building, among other things.
"I created this training facility to prepare you to deal with different types of disasters!" Thirteen declared as they looked on proudly at the building. "I call it the Unforeseen Simulation Joint, but you can call it USJ!"
'Just like Universal Studios Japan,' Hikari realized. 'It's the same acronym.'
Ochako turned to the tealette, all but bouncing on her heels. "Wow, where do you wanna go first, Hikari? I wanna do the landslide!"
"Hm, if I had to pick…" Hikari placed a hand on her hip and another on her chin. "Maybe the mountain range? I could do that."
"Clock's ticking, we should get started," Aizawa interrupted.
"Excellent!" chirped Thirteen. "Before we begin, let me just say one thing. Well, maybe two things. Possibly three, or four, or five..." They trailed off bashfully, but refocused. They held up their hand, the fingertips covered in thimble-like contraptions. "Listen carefully. I'm sure you're aware that I have a powerful quirk. It's called Black Hole. I can use it to suck up anything and turn it into dust."
"Yeah, you've used Black Hole to save people from all kinds of disasters before, haven't you?" Midoriya added. In the corner of her eye, Hikari could see Ochako nod enthusiastically like a bobble head as the pro hero spoke.
"That's true," Thirteen agreed, "but my quirk could also very easily be used to kill." The nodding stopped.
"Some of you also have powers that can be dangerous. In our superhuman society, all quirks are certified and strictly regulated, so we often overlook how unsafe they can actually be. Please don't forget that if you lose focus or make the wrong move, your powers can be deadly, even if you're trying to do something virtuous, like rescuing someone.
"Thanks to Aizawa's fitness tests, you have a solid idea of your quirk's potential, and because of All Might's combat training, you've likely experienced how dangerous your powers can be when used against other people. Carry those lessons into this class. Today, you're going to learn how to use your quirks to save people's lives. You won't be using your powers to attack enemies or each other, only to help. After all, that's what being a hero is all about, ensuring the safety of others." They finished with a bow. "That's all I have to say. Thank you so much for listening."
Class 1-A broke out in cheers and applause, complimenting Thirteen's powerful speech. 'They're really awesome,' Hikari thought.
"Right, now that that's over—"
Before Aizawa could finish, the lights running around the circumference of the dome crackled with electricity and shut off, plunging the USJ into near darkness. 'What is going on?' Hikari thought, looking for the source. It didn't take long for something to catch her eye. "There! In front of the fountain!" she exclaimed. "Something is morphing!"
The water in front of the fountain started and stopped erratically before a purple vortex appeared in front of it. It grew larger and larger, completely covering half of the building.
"Stay together! Don't move!" their teacher commanded. "Thirteen, protect the students!"
"What is that thing?" Kirishima asked, and Hikari followed his gaze. People were coming out of the portal en masse. "Wait, has the training started already? I thought we were rescuing people."
Midoriya took a step forward to get a better look, but Aizawa barked, "Stay back!" Hikari saw him pull his goggles over his eyes. "This is real," he continued, "Those are villains."