Chapter 8: Villain Attack

Chapter Image: imgur /a/HiUxK8S

We made it inside a giant facility that was almost as big as the city replica in our entrance exams. It reminded me of several theme parks in my past life. Something like Disneyland or Universal Studios. The place contained numerous "attractions:" mountains, waterfalls, cities encased in fire, you name it. Everyone seems to be in awe of how big the place was.

"This is a practical training area I created to simulate all kinds of accidents and disasters. Flood wrecks, landslides, fires, any disaster you can think of."

We were greeted by a hero in a white astronaut costume. The helmet itself had an indication of eyes that made them seem approachable and friendly.

"It's Space Hero! Number 13! She's a gentle hero who does phenomenal work helping disaster relief!" Midoriya says loudly for everyone to hear.

"Wow! I've always liked Number 13!" Uraraka agrees happily.

Even though my long-time dream was to become a hero, I never really kept up with hero news or anything of that sort. Really, my knowledge of popular heroes was nearly non-existent. The only hero I really kept up with when I was younger was All Might, and that was only because of Yosetsu and dad.

Speaking of which, it seems like even though there were mentions of All Might helping us with this trial exercise, he's nowhere to be seen. Aizawa takes Thirteen to the side, most likely to discuss the missing teacher, but it seems like he's not needed in the exercise, as the astronaut-like hero comes back to start the trial.

"Before we begin, just one thing… or two… or three… or four," Thirteen counts the lessons on her fingers as she thinks of them.

"I'm certain you are already quite aware, but my quirk is called a black hole. No matter what material may be sucked in the vortex I'm afraid it will be turned to dust." Thirteen shows a demonstration of her quirk. A black void appears when she raises her hand, taking in the air above her in spirals.

"That's a quirk that's useful for removing wreckage and saving people injured by disasters!" Midoriya interjects. Thirteen nods at his observation.

"It is. However, it is also a power that could also easily be used to kill people, and in that way, it's no different from the quirks of everyone here."

Number 13 further explains the repercussions of quirks in society. Because everyone has a unique power, quirks are strictly regulated. In this world, not everyone has complete mastery of their quirk, and in the wrong situation, normal individuals will end up hurting themselves or others unintentionally. This is why heroes must train their quirks to their fullest capabilities so that we learn to use our quirks solely to help others.

"That's all, you have my gratitude for listening so intently and patiently." Thirteen gives a courteous bow, and the class applauds.

"Alright, first things fi—" Aizawa's speech is interrupted, as he turns back when something catches his attention. The room drops several degrees.

Amid our trial to learn about saving lives, we're faced with great danger. Malicious, murderous faces, the likes of what you see in fiction, emerged from a void of darkness that slowly expanded to reveal a larger army.

"HUDDLE TOGETHER AND DON'T MOVE!" Aizawa screams. "THIRTEEN! PROTECT THE STUDENTS!"

The natural enemy of heroes outnumbers us by the hundreds, far too many to be considered a crime of passion. It was a gathering of villains with a methodical plan, one smart enough to account for isolated events like this one, and bypass the already strict security measures of a top-rated hero school. This was a crisis that simply couldn't be fixed with just two pro heroes and a bunch of amateur hero students. This was something obviously so much greater than me, and that made my knees shiver in fear.

"What's that? Is that the same training pattern as the exam?" Kirishima asks.

"DON'T MOVE! THOSE ARE VILLAINS!" With a loud shout, Aizawa-sensei confirms my fears. The class bursts into a fit of panicked speech, grasping the situation and finding ways out of this mess.

"Sensei! What about the alarm sensors?" Yaoyorozu-san asks 13.

"We have sensors set up but..!"

"Is this the only campus they infiltrated? Or are they attacking the others too? At any rate, if the sensors aren't responding that means there's someone amongst them with a quirk that disrupts it," Todoroki-san points out.

I take a deep breath and calm myself, peering towards the exit we came from. The doors were wide open, and it looked like there were no villains blocking our escape route. Two pro heroes were on the scene, and I'm sure if it came down to it, I would fight alongside my classmates to get everyone outside. I looked at my peers and tried my best to get a mental catalog of their quirks and abilities.

"Number 13! Do the evacuation procedure and try calling the school. There's a chance that they have someone in their ranks interfering with electronic communication." He turns to Kaminari. "You too. Try contacting Yuuei with your quirk!" Aizawa-sensei readies himself. His goggles protect his eyes, and his white, bandage-like scarves begin to unravel as he pulls on them.

"Sensei! Are you fighting them alone?! Even if you suppress all of their quirks, the battle style of the hero Eraserhead is to capture villains after erasing their quirks!" Midoriya says, concerned.

"A hero always has more than one trick up their sleeves." He steps forward, brimming with confidence. "I'm counting on you, Thirteen."

Aizawa-sensei leaps down the steps, fully unraveling his bandage scarves. He wraps the first two unfortunate souls in their hold, slamming the two large bodies together swiftly. He dances around opponents much larger than him, and though he is surrounded, one by one, those who dared to approach him end up on the ground, face first.

Thirteen guides everyone to the steps, I look back to make sure everyone is following. My eyes narrow when I see Midoriya's frozen form, eyes glued to Eraserhead.

"Incredible… I forgot that–"

"Move Midoriya!" I say firmly, grabbing his arm roughly to pull him towards the rest of the class.

"This is no time for analysis! We have to evacuate!" Iida-san chimes in.

"I'm afraid we can't allow that." A dark misty figure makes his appearance. From its formless, shapeless body, white eyes glare down menacingly at our forms. The mist condenses to mimic the proportions of a human body, supported by a metal brace on its neck.

"Greetings. We are the villain alliance. We took it upon ourselves to enter Yuuei Academy, the base of heroes in order to engage with Mr. All Might, the Symbol of Peace," a chilling polite tone comes from the figure.

I let go of Midoriya's arm and drew out my wakizashi. With my left hand, I take out my shield and walk slightly forward to prepare for an incoming attack.

"We were wondering if we might be allowed the opportunity to extinguish him you see… Though I guess it seems that something has been altered, seeing as though his presence is missing at this juncture. Well… Setting that aside…"

At once, Bakugou and Kirishima charge at the mist man. An explosion disrupts the black formless body, but it's no use. The body bounces back into shape as though it were never harmed.

"Step back you two! Just run! Run you two!" Number 13 calls the two boys back but it's too late.

"You will be scattered… and tortured…"

The black mist envelops our group. I raise my shield up in a futile attempt to block the attack from hitting those around me, but it approaches, undeterred, taking first the students on the outer shell. I'm one of the first to go. Right as the last of my figure is enveloped I reach out towards anyone, but find that I'm far off.

"...and slain!"

From the darkness was an intense light. It was a fiery hellscape where the remains of buildings and vehicles burned. A place where no human in their right mind could survive without scorching the base of their skin. I was in the conflagration zone.

Alone and surrounded.

Villains of different shapes and sizes, with weapons of all kinds. I was outnumbered, at least thirty to one. I eyed the quirks of those around me–which predominantly consisted of mutation class quirks. Big burly men with large clubs, reptiles, and animal-based quirks, mostly those resistant to the heat of the landscape. When I looked above them, I found shadowy figures perched atop building windows, no doubt with emitter-class quirks.

There was only one way out of this as soon as possible: I needed to get to an enclosed space, and out of sight of potential long-ranged fighters. I need to take the big guys out first and get out of here, quickly.

"I can't believe they just sent one girl here. What do they take us for?"

"Let's just get her quick and hunt for more of those little brats!"

I take a deep breath. It's just like Krav Maga Initiation. I chanted in my head. No more than five seconds on one enemy. Take them down quickly and help the others. You can do this Yurin.

With a plan in my head, I charge towards the space in the crowd closer to an entrance of a building. I don't spare a warning when I take up my stance.

I plow through the bodies and make it inside a large concrete building.

The smaller men fell quickly. There was a sickening crack every time my staff hit a fragile man's body. Those with simpler short weapons couldn't even think of swinging when they tasted the cool end of a titanium rod. Any shackles of mercy placed upon me in sparring matches were released, and now, there were no holds barred. I did not hesitate to break bones and inflict the greatest amount of pain to make sure that once they were down, they would not be getting up any time soon.

Now, the stronger, bigger ones–they were a problem. Among the twenty-or-so men that hoped to fight me in a short distance within a closed space, there were two or three that looked especially big, especially bulky, and hard to pick out. In a pile of disabled bodies, many of the smaller villains get the memo and start hiding behind stronger quirked men to wait for an opportunity to take the credit.

Among those included a simple strength enhancement quirk. A man one foot taller than me, with large bulging muscles. I knew that getting hit wasn't an option.

I shifted my stance.

Greater strength always compensates for greater weakness. I sheathe my bo staff and shield to replace them with my shorter, twin sticks. I shift my stance.

The exchange happens in a matter of seconds.

The stronger man raises a fist in the air at my approach, but he's too slow. I invade his space, stabbing my stick deep into his solar plexus. His flesh digs down at the impact and he hunches over, the air knocked out from his lungs. Any normal man would have been on their knees with that blow, but the man was still standing. I expect at least that much.

His swing goes wide and I jam two sticks to his back, sinking into the place where his kidneys would be. The man screams in pain and kneels, exposing the base of his neck. One final hit with both sticks and the light turns off in his brain. His heavy body lands with a thud, face first into the boiling hot concrete.

The second man was on the heavier side, likely three times my weight. His arms and legs were covered in sickly green scales that looked like they could protect his skin from the brunt hits of my staff and sticks. He was equipped with a larger wooden club, his appearance reminded me of an ogre from that movie in my previous life: Shrek. I charge straight towards the Shrek look-alike and shift my stance again, switching out my short sticks fo—

A smaller man tackles me into the wall with overwhelming speed. My back hits the hot concrete, and a sharp pain travels up my spine, a blow that will no doubt leave bruises. I attempt to retaliate, but he's gone before I even start to swing.

Taking the opportunity, a crowd charges toward my hunched form. I shakily rise and make quick work of them, adding their disabled bodies to the pile.

That was annoying.

Speed quirk wasn't like the other people I was fighting. He watched from behind the shadows and hit me if I showed any sliver of an opening. With his speed, there's no way I can retaliate fast enough to catch him when he lands a hit on me. Pursuing either person if they were together, was just an invitation to get knocked out at once. To make matters worse, these weaker thugs won't stop to give me a chance to recover.

The larger scaled man lets out a deep, demeaning chuckle and charges. His large club raises into the air and I move to the side. The weight of his blow leaves a dent in the building's concrete, right where I was standing. With two sticks still in my hands, I hit his legs.

The man doesn't flinch. He snorts, amused at the fact that I even attempted to hit him with my sticks. He readies his club for another swing.

I sheathe my sticks again and switch my stance—

Pain explodes in my stomach, another unexpected blow, as the small, quick figure makes another dash at my form. He's gone in mere seconds, and my eyes open to an even greater danger: a large wooden club barrelling towards me at alarming speeds.

My eyes widen and I leap back. The club grazes my right cheek, drawing a small line of blood as it sweeps past. A concrete pillar takes the full brunt of the blow, caving in when the club meets its surface. The club almost cleaves through it, but it stops, stuck in the indent it creates.

I peer over to speed quirk's form behind the Shrek look-alike and narrow my eyes. Several crooks close in on me once again, and I take them out. I snap an arm, dig at necks, and serve blows to jaws with my bare fists.

I change my stance again and feign an opening as I reach for my wakizashi.

Gotcha.

The man dashes towards my form, fist riled back, he extends his arm to punch my face, but this trick won't work on me three times. My arms are ready, and take the approaching blow, grabbing his wrist firmly. With a little push, he easily flies over my head, landing back-first into the concrete ground with a force equivalent to his own speed. There's a sickening crack, and the man is out cold before he can even scream.

Finally, I'm able to unsheathe my short sword and shield. With one less problem gone, Shrek had a whole lot coming for him. In an angry growl, he pulls the club from the pillar and charges. I meet him in the middle, gashing his stomach with my blade.

He roars, holding his bleeding stomach.

I gash at his arms, pushing a little deeper to get past the scales. The club falls to the ground with a heavy thud and he screams again. One final cut to his legs, and he's on his knees. With my shield, I hit the back of his thick neck with as much force as I can muster, and he's on the ground, sleeping.

With the bigger man gone, the lower-level thugs turn, running out of the building with tails between their legs. I let them run.

A moment of silence passes as I'm left alone with piles of debilitated bodies and strewn about weapons. Relief floods over when it dawns on me that the worst of it is finished, but this is no time to celebrate. I worried deeply for others like me who were isolated and fighting against villains outnumbered. The moment I walk out of the building, a sharp pain sinks into the back of my calf. I grunt, swiftly facing the direction of my aggressor to cover myself with my shield. I glance at my calf and see a needle sticking out. When I pull it out, it dissipates.

I raise my head and get a visual of at least five emitter-class quirk users. My heart sinks to my chest.

I'm losing too much time. There's no way I can take these guys out without taking at least ten minutes on each person.

I take out one of my short sticks and throw it towards the closest enemy, putting my full body weight on the throw.

"AHH!" the rod shatters through a window. His loud scream was the only indication that I truly hit him.

I spot the glimmer of projectiles heading in my direction, and dash out of the way, into the fire and side-alley streets, out of view from any windows. Mid-run, I adjust the settings of my coolant, turning the cold all the way up. I created a new short-stick, protruding slowly from my arm as I ran. When it reaches its desired height, I yank it out and sheathe it.

I make it out of the large fences, my limbs and back throbbing from the blunt hits and stabs of projectiles. Internally, I come to regret not bringing my titanium plates and armor, knowing that these projectiles wouldn't have been a problem if I simply had protection. The closest zone to where I exit is the flood zone. I don't waste time and approach.

The view that greets me is an amusing one. Around twenty villains are huddled together by violet orbs, floating in the middle of a large pool. Whoever was just here did quick work of those villains, and I feel relieved, knowing that my classmates could handle themselves. As I run towards the center of the compound, I feel the ground rumble. The sound of large blasts and impacts catch my attention, as I peer over to the source, I spot the tufts of familiar green, dirt-blonde, and half-and-half hair.

When I get closer I see the scene clearly.

Bakugou has the black mist villain pinned down by his metal brace. Midoriya, Todoroki, and Kirishima surround All Might. A boy stands on the other side of them.

His face and body were covered with gray hands. Two on his head, eight on his shoulders and arms, and two on his ribs. I'm close enough to hear his voice.

"Noumu. Go ahead and finish explosion boy over there. We're rescuing our revolving door."

He speaks to a large inhuman creature sunken to the ground and encased in Todoroki's ice. What remains of his black torso and appendages mirror the anatomical muscle groups of a human, with the strength that could destroy buildings with its bare fists. Its long flat head is cut in half by a permanent grin, and round eyeballs remain open with no lids, attached only to the head directly through its exposed brain.

It writhed at the command, rising from the ground and shaking off the ice. Its limbs shatter as it rises, breaking apart from its form, but the muscles from its missing parts grow at an alarming rate, one muscle strand at a time.

I don't even see it move. It charges at Bakugou, leaving behind a gust of windy smoke. When the smoke clears, Bakugou is unharmed and All Might is blown away, taking the hit for the student. The black mist villain is out of Bakugou's grasp, held firmly through his metal neck brace by the creature called Noumu.

I shiver.

"...Do you not know mercy?" All Might's battered arm is raised, a sign that he took on the full blow.

"We had no choice. We had to save our ally, didn't we?" the boy with his hands lets out a dry laugh. "And not long ago, one of your kids over there… the plain looking one. He tried to beat me up with all his strength, you hear? Where do you think he learned these acts of violence, hero?" he spat the last word out in disgust.

I tense when the boy steps forward, arms open wide, in an invitation to attack him if we dared.

"We're categorized as either heroes or villains, but at the end of the day, violence is violence! And who gets to decide what's right or wrong? Society does!"

He laughs bitterly.

"The 'Symbol of Peace'? Give me a break! You're nothing more than a tool of oppression yourself! Violence breeds violence, and once we kill you, that will be made known to the world!"

It didn't matter what words came out of his mouth. Violence breeds violence? Deciding who's right? That doesn't matter to me. In any world, those who hurt the innocent are evil, and you must be strong enough to protect yourself and the innocent from those evils. If you planned to hurt the Symbol of Peace, why must you aim to kill students that had nothing to do with your fight? His words made my blood boil.

These were the twisted motivations of a true villain—one that truly believed they were in the right. A villain who selfishly fulfills their desires without consideration of others can be considered dangerous, but an even scarier force is a villain who believes their actions were truly justified. Those who will fight tooth and nail to hurt who they need to, no matter the cost. I need to be stronger than those villains.

"It's three versus five," Todoroki mutters to his classmates.

"Three versus six. I'm here too," I make my way to Todoroki's side. The four boys tense, then relax when they recognize me.

"Stick girl," Bakugou mutters. Midoriya gives me a firm nod, meeting me in the eye.

"Kacchan exposed the shadow guy's weak point. We just need to focus on the metal thing on his neck," he tells me.

"These guys are outrageous, but if we give All Might some support, then we'll send them packing, no problem!" Kirishima adds confidently.

"NO! Please escape!" All Might holds out a hand to stop us.

"But if I hadn't come to support you earlier, it would have been bad," Todoroki contests.

"All Might! You've got blood… You're going to be out of—ah…" Midoriya worriedly mutters.

"You're right Todoroki my boy! Thanks a ton! But now, I'll be okay! All you need to do is watch a pro to show you how it's done!"

Not a second later, the three villains prepare to attack. The boy with hands approaches five of our forms, and I ready my staff and shield in response.

"Let's clear the game and return victorious!"

"He's coming! Brace yourselves!" Kirishima shouts.

All Might charges toward Noumu, facing the monster head-on in a series of punches. In an unreal display of strength and skill, All Might delivers each blow with a resounding outward force. Gusts of wind push everyone out of their positions.

A full frontal assault and strength that can only be seen in fiction. It was a battle so intense, that the movements were obscured, not just from the smoke, but also from the sheer speed of the attacks. The black monster reeled back, taking all the blows given to it.

No words can describe how small I felt at that moment. There was no doubt in my mind that no matter how I used my quirk, no matter how much I trained, no matter how much experience I gained from working until my body gave out, I will never reach his strength. The number one hero who defeats all his adversaries and saves all those around him—he is my ideal, and yet it was so implausible that I felt a wave of undeniable anger bubble within me.

I misunderstood my dreams. I misunderstood how hard this would be. Did I really think I can protect everyone with just martial arts? With just my sticks and my shields? In the face of overwhelming power like those of that monster Noumu, would my shield be able to withstand even one of his blows? One of All Might's blows?

The monster is sent flying into the air in one final blow. It breaks through the building's ceiling, and All Might appears from the smoke, victorious.

"What's the matter? Where'd your bravado go? What happened to clearing the game? Try it if you can!" All Might taunt the boy villain.

"That's All Might for you." Todoroki sighs, turning away.

"Midoriya! We oughta be drawing back now! Otherwise, we might end up getting used as hostages…" Kirishima adds.

I snap out of my reverie and sigh.

"Let All Might handle them. We've got to see the others," Kirishima points out. I nod, agreeing with him.

"Right. I was worried about everyone too."

Bakugou scoffs, taking a quick glance at me. "Worry about yourself, old hair. Did you have trouble beating those D-Listers? You look like shit!" I blink, looking down at my form.

The red and blue gi given to me by Tiger Fist-sensei was scorched. Only some of the fabric remained, exposing the heat-resistant turtleneck underneath. My clothes were littered with holes from the projectiles I tanked, and parts of my exposed skin were probably covered in soot and traces of blood, but they were all minor scratches.

"Ah… I was in the conflagration zone. That's kinda why I look a little burned up." We all turn to leave.

"Midoriya?" Todoroki mutters.

My eyes widened as I turned back. Midoriya's form dashed towards All Might and the rest of the villains at unbelievable speeds. His fists were reeled back, aiming to punch the black mist villain.

"LET GO OF ALL MIGHT!"

"Midoriya!" I yelled out helplessly.

BANG!

A bullet whirls past, ten feet away, and I freeze.

BANG! BANG!

Two more resounding shots echo.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

Where do I run? How do I get away?

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Bullets rain down on the villains and I'm brought back to the hallways of tenth grade. The sight of falling bodies; the sound of shattering mirrors and tiles, the sharp pain of bullets sinking into flesh. Warm red blood stained the pristine white tile, pooling around my cold body.

"Tatsumori? Let's go—Are you good? You were spacing out there a little bit." I flinched when a hand perches on my shoulder. In response, Kirishima quickly reels his hand back.

"Oh shoot, sorry. Are you hurt there? Cementoss said he was going to take all the injured students, so maybe you should go with him and Midoriya."

I silently thanked God for the misunderstanding and sent him a weak nod.

Bakugou, Todoroki, and Kirishima left first. When they were out of sight, I fell to my knees, feeling the adverse effects of my body's reaction to the sound.

A/n: Welcome to USJ! As you know, Yurin has replaced Ojiro (Tail man) in the class, and unluckily for her, Tail Man was literally one of two people who got sent to a zone by himself! I know. This is why Yurin had to go through all of that by herself, but I thought it was a great way to show her strength, weaknesses and how she can still grow to be stronger than she is right now! If you're curious as to what her hero costume looks like without the metal tassets, you can refer to Chapter 6's image. Here is my question to you: Who do you think is most similar to Yurin in class 1A?