"I took the time to go over the results of yesterday's combat training. Nice job, everyone."

The beginning of our school day kicks off with Aizawa for Homeroom. As is standard, the short, 10 minute period is meant as a time of orientation in preparation for the rest of the day, in which our instructor not only relays critiques of our recent performance in other classes but also reports on important information and events. That being said, it's no surprise at all when he suddenly announces the need to pick class representatives.

The class is immediately in an excited uproar about it, and I have a hard time meeting even an ounce of their enthusiasm. Even in prior school years, I've just never really been interested in this sort of thing. I mean, sure, it can reflect super well on your student record, and there's the added benefit of how well hero agencies would think of you because of it, but… meh.

My mind wanders as Aizawa plucks his big, slug-like sleeping bag out of seemingly nowhere, no doubt intending on making good use of it until the class can come to a decision. You know, the class has been somewhat wary of his eccentrism as an instructor, but me? Call me masochistic, but I'm actually enjoying having him, not least of all because he's yet another person who's like me. Seeing his quirk in action up close and personal made his nature as a psychic type clear to me. Well, I guess I've technically been aware of it for a while now.

He may not be very well-known as a pro-hero, but I've seen commenters on the early Sunday morning quirk education channel programs classify Erasure as an emitter type of the psychic variety. Technically, most known psychic quirks are of the emitter category in some way, shape, or form — in fact, that's become somewhat expected — but that's beside the point. The fact is that, in the few times they talk about him, they like to use his quirk to represent the usual, observed behavior of psychic quirks in general. Case in point, Erasure achieves its effect by actively interfering with the activation of (most) other quirks. They speculate this is due to the presence of a psychic energy field projected from his sight range. It is my own personal speculation that this has something to do with why his capture weapon just floats the way it does whenever his quirk's active.

"EVERYONE! Silence in the classroom! Calm DOWN!"

…

...Oh, right. We're in the middle of picking class representatives. Right.

I tune back in as Iida begins wrangling things back in order, everyone having gone silent from his shouting.

"The role of a class representative is not to be treated lightly. It is a duty where one must maintain dedicated leadership over their peers. It's not something that anyone can do."

Very true, which is why I have no interest.

"I propose we hold a democratic election to determine our leader. It is only logical to do so in a way that everyone can be confident that the right person has been chosen for the job," he suggests, hand held just as high in the air as anyone else's. Seems to me he'd prefer the role for himself, despite his words.

"You're not fooling anyone, you know!" the class says in unison. Clearly everyone else has noticed, too.

It does make me stop and think on it, though. As much as he can tend to be such a stick-in-the-mud, he's definitely the type of person who would seem up for the task. He'd take it seriously, I'm sure. Buuuut…

My gaze falls over my shoulder onto the ponytailed figure seated at the room's rear. It's a bit of a toss up for me.

After agreeing to the vote method, sheets of paper are passed out for us to record our responses on. Doesn't take me long to record mine.

After the votes are all sent in and tallied, Aizawa records the results on the blackboard for the class to see. Most people chose to vote for themselves. However, not everyone did — and that's made all the difference.

Midoriya Izuku - 3

Yaoyorozu Momo - 3

"It seems… we have ourselves a tie," our teacher drawls.

Midoriya's result I'm actually kind of surprised by. The other one's less of a surprise. When I'd been deliberating on my own choice, I'd ultimately known who would be best. Iida's cool and all, but my experience getting to team up with her revealed Yaoyorozu's aptitude for the role of a leader well. She's confident, skilled, and extremely intelligent, to boot. Plus, personality tends to be important with this kind of thing. Iida's earnest nature can be said to be one of his biggest strengths, but it's also kinda like a double-edged sword in how it leads him to go overboard at times. The guy just has no chill. Yaoyorozu, by comparison, is very level-headed. To me, it's a total no-brainer. Clearly, one other person (besides Yaoyorozu herself) agreed with me.

Slumped tiredly over the podium, Aizawa pins the class with an appraising look.

"Does anyone feel like changing their vote?"

Nothing but silence.

His eyes droop closed as he exhales a terse sigh. "...Then we'll put the final decision off for now. Take a bit to decide amongst yourselves. You have until lunch to do so. We'll reconvene afterwards."

And with that, Homeroom concludes.

-oOo-

"Man, you guys, is it just me or does Lunch Rush's food taste better every time I eat it? Mmm~!"

"Heh, you know, it's kinda weird to see your food disappear into the abyss like that every time you eat, Hagakure."

"Into my tummy! Nom nom nom…"

Gotta say, this is much more lively than my lunches in the past ever were. Then again, anything would be when you're used to eating alone.

Hagakure's been taking it upon herself to drag me into eating lunch with most of the other girls of Class A every day, effectively putting an end to my quiet time of peaceful eating. But, well… I can't say I hate it, either.

Seems like our arrangement's always the same, with Hagakure seated right next to me, Ashido to her left, and Jirou (the source of the comment towards Hagakure), Yaoyorozu, and Asui sitting across from us.

"Hey, Yaomomo, how exactly does your quirk work?" Ashido inquires. "I mean, I know you can make things, but I'm just wondering how you do it, you know?"

The girl in question takes a moment to primly clear away the food from around her mouth with a napkin beforehand. "Certainly! I can produce inorganic materials from the lipids inside my body. Of course, in order to do so, I must have knowledge of a creation's molecular structure, but, so long as that requirement is met, I can theoretically make just about anything."

It explains why she's so darn smart. Her quirk literally counts on it.

"Then I imagine you have to eat quite a bit in order to keep your body up for your quirk, ribbit. Makes sense why your plate's always so full."

"Yes, that's certainly true."

"Oh, then it's no wonder you have such a killer rack. Totes expected."

"A… "rack"?

"Mina-chan's referring to your boobs. It's cuz they're all huge and stuff!"

"I-I see…"

Never a dull moment with these girls.

"Hey, have you guys heard? QSI's supposed to be having some sort of exhibition going at that expo on I-Island this summer," Jirou informs us, eyes glued to her phone, probably scrolling through news. "I wouldn't mind seeing what kind of rockin' tech they'll have on display, but I probably won't be able to be there."

"Why's that?" Hagakure questions.

"Invitation only—can't enter the pre-show without one."

"Aww, that stinks."

"Just how it is."

I recall Hiko-oji bringing this very thing up not too long ago. I don't think there are many heroes or heroes-in-training that don't hold QSI and its technology in high regard. It's only natural, what with its status as the world's leading research institute for the development of quirks and quirk-related technology. Part of that technology comes in the form of support gear for heroes. In fact, their achievements are so great that support companies have been known to outsource work to them for particularly challenging projects, my own goggles being an example (Apparently, it took a lot to get them to mimic my powers so perfectly). Many of the world's quirk findings have originated from QSI's own researchers. I believe I-Island even has some of their workers stationed there. With such an incredibly solid legacy, it's no wonder QSI has become like the UA of the quirk research world.

"Actually, it's possible I may end up with an invitation to the expo myself this year," Yaoyorozu declares. "They usually send some to my family since we're so deeply involved with the event sponsors."

"Oh yeah, no surprise that our resident rich chick would get to go," Ashido teases, a wide, toothy grin plastered onto her face.

A lunch or two ago, we found out how filthy stinkin' rich Yaoyorozu's family is. My family's got a pretty comfortable living, but compared to her, it's—

Riiiiiiiiiing!

The shrill peal of the bell cleaves through the bustling cafeteria atmosphere, leaving nothing but silence in its wake as countless eyes rise upward, as if to locate the source of the disruption.

Warning! Level Three Security Breach! Repeat—Level Three Security Breach! All Students Should Evacuate The Facility Within An Orderly Fashion. I Repeat—

The message continues to drone overhead, and the effect is near immediate. Tumbling chairs, shouting voices, and rushing bodies transform the once comfortable air of the cafeteria into a scene of complete and utter hysteria.

I observe from my seat as first, second, and third years alike stumble, stagger, and totter over each other like a mob of panicked toddlers in their effort to escape. The grating scrape of chairs assaults my ears as my seatmates hurry to their feet.

The sensation of a hand tugging at my arm draws my eyes to the source.

"Haruna-chan, come on! We have to leave now!"

"Please wait, Hagakure-san! We shouldn't just rush off after the crowd!"

"Huh?"

"Think about it — if we go the way of the other students, we'll only end up being pushed around in the mob."

"Yaoyorozu-san is right," I say, finally rising up from my seat. "No one's thinking clearly right now. They're just mindlessly looking to escape the threat."

We have a clear view of the pileup occurring in the hallway leading from the cafe due to how close our table is to the exit. No one's getting through that chaos. And it's only getting worse as more and more people zip past us.

"So then, what should we do?" asks Jirou, a troubled look overtaking her features.

"We need to figure out a way of getting through to everyone first. I think we should—"

Before the girl can utter a single other word, some dingus is plowing into her on his way to the door, nearly knocking her off her feet.

"Yaomomo!" Jirou cries, rushing to help stabilize her footing.

As if signaled by the first guy, five more people invade the space of our small group. Those five turn into seven and then nine as my line of sight becomes rapidly obstructed.

My feet threaten to lose their grip on the floor as several people collide into me all at once and I feel myself beginning to be dragged backwards, trapped within the course of their panic. It's all I can do to try and keep myself afloat and off the ground, where I know I could end up trampled under foot.

Throughout it all, my mind becomes aware of a too tight pressure clamping down onto one of my hands, yanking my arm painfully sideways, but I have no ability to give it my attention — or rather, I can't afford to give it attention. I can't let myself fall.

Eventually, my back collides with squirming bodies, and I know I've ended up trapped within the crowded hallway. Writhing bodies in front of me and behind me make it so that I am totally incapable of moving away from my current position without some serious force. So imagine my surprise when a lone, struggling figure somehow makes her way through to stand right next to me, the tugging on my arm ceasing as she emerges through the packed crowd.

"Haruna-chan…! This is… crazy!" Hagakure declares, voice rife with strain.

She seriously let herself be dragged along with me? But that's crazy…! She just put her own safety at risk…

"I-I won't let go!" I'm sure if I could see her face right now, it'd be creased in strained focus.

I can feel both of her hands come to grip my own now. A warm feeling causes my insides to tingle a little. My hand grips hers right back.

Without even realizing it, I'm fighting just as hard to remain connected to her as the crowd suddenly jostles us harshly to the left. My shoulder collides roughly with the windowed wall, causing a streak of pain to shoot through my arm. This is just hellish.

"Gah!"

The arm connected to Hagakure's is yanked downward this time as her body hits the floor next to me. Crap!

I scramble to bend down as much as possible to her level, but a sudden shove against my side causes me to careen further against the wall.

I can't do anything but watch as someone's shoe stamps down harshly where Hagakure's leg should be.

"OUCH!"

"Hagakure-chan!"

The shoe digs in even further.

"Ouch! Ow! Ow! Ow!"

Is this idiot deaf or something?! I know she's invisible, but can't he hear her screams, at least? Probably not with all the raised voices around us. Damn it.

I prepare myself to start shoving him away as hard as possible when—

"Whoops, sorry."

"Hey, man! What the cra—"

The oddest thing happens as I glare up at the guy, who has his head turned to the side to address someone over his shoulder. His posture abruptly slackens mid-speech, the pupils of his eyes completely glazing over, as if suddenly under a trance of some sort. What?

"Move your foot," a voice commands from somewhere beyond my vantage point.

His foot lifts away from Hagakure's leg on command, like a puppet getting its strings yanked.

"Now, make some room."

I steady myself as he shifts away some, giving us some much needed breathing room. I take the opportunity to pull Hagakure back to her feet.

"Are you okay, Tooru-chan? How's your leg?"

Even in asking, I can tell that it must be painful by her tensed body language and the fact that she appears to be favoring the uninjured leg.

"Uhh… it kinda hurts. A lot, actually."

"Then it's a good thing I happened to see the both of you over here struggling like a couple of damsels when I did."

A head of messy, purple hair and a familiar face appear through the gap created by Mr. Crush-a-lot stepping away, revealing the owner of the voice. Well, I'll be…

"Look who it is… Shinsou-kun, correct?"

His fatigued expression morphs into a sly grin.

"So you bothered to remember, huh?"

"Didn't I tell you that I would? I'm guessing that Mr. Stompy over there is the brilliant work of your quirk?"

The grin stretching into an outright smirk is my answer. Heh… fair enough; we aren't really supposed to be using our quirks outside of class like this, after all.

I take note of his rather relaxed demeanor — hands in pockets, shoulders at rest, posture somewhat slouched. It's almost as if we aren't currently trapped in the middle of an overstuffed hallway like a can of panicked sardines. This guy's a bit of a cool cucumber, huh?

"Who's this, Haruna-chan?"

I turn towards Hagakure to address her. "Just someone I met during the entrance exam."

"Oh, I see. Nice to meet you, then, Shinsou… uh… kun?"

The boy in question seems to have checked out of the conversation entirely — rather, something through the window has caught his attention.

Our heads automatically swivel to observe the source of his focus, and, boy, is it an interesting sight.

Through the brush and foliage populating the space between the outside of the cafeteria and the school courtyard, we can make out a whole crowd of people on the school grounds. They seem to be heckling the two teachers, Aizawa and Present Mic, currently blocking off the entrance from them.

"Is that the press from this morning?" Hagakure questions.

"They just never give up, do they? Quite the tenacious bunch..."

"The question is how they managed to get past the gate to begin with."

Shinsou's statement causes a pregnant pause to initiate between us. He's right. There should have been no way for simple reporters to find their way past the school's defenses. What the heck could have happened at the gate?

"EVERYONE! It's all right! Calm down!"

The loud voice projecting from somewhere above us pulls our eyes to the very front of the hall, where a peculiarly positioned Iida is perched above everyone atop the exit sign. How the heck did he even manage to get up there, I wonder?

"It's only the media! There is no danger occurring whatsoever!"

Looks like we're not the only ones that noticed the real cause of the disturbance.

"As UA students, it's our job to remain calm and prove to the world why we are the best! Enough panicking!"

You know, it's a great speech and all, but I feel like it'd have a liiiiiiittle more impact were his legs not currently shaking like a flimsy leaf in a hurricane from the strain of holding his body up in that awkward as hell sideways position.

Even so, the strength of his words seems to achieve the intended effect; like the lifting of a spell, the once charged atmosphere of the cramped hall dissolves away to a mollified stillness, the unruly horde seeming to come to its senses at last. Thank fudge for that.

"If you all understand, then please return back to the cafeteria! Calmly! And make sure to stay mindful of your schoolmates as you go," Iida orders, taking advantage of the new calm.

As prompted, within a matter of minutes, we all manage to carefully clear back out into the blessedly larger space without a single other incident. Amazing what a good ol' grounding pep talk can accomplish. I think I might have to rethink my opinion of Iida's leadership capabilities after this. The guy just might be good at this type of thing.

The crowd thins away until our little party of three is all that's left standing within our immediate vicinity, everyone else slinking off to return to their lunches.

"Hagakure-san! Yukie-san!"

The call of our names draws our attention over to our previously abandoned lunch table a short distance away. Yaoyorozu's tall frame waves over at us from beside her seat, Jirou and Ashido present on either side of her with visibly concerned looks on their faces, their eyes zeroed in on one person in particular.

My sight also moves over to the girl practically hanging from my side, an invisible arm slung over my shoulder, one of my own perched atop her waist to support her limping figure. The way over here had proven just how much abuse Hagakure's leg must have taken. It had nearly buckled underneath her with the slightest bit of pressure. I had to scramble just to keep her upright. I can't see her injury, but it's got to be one worthy of medical attention.

"Uh, you guys? My leg is kinda killing me right now…" Hagakure complains weakly, confirming my thoughts.

I fully turn towards her. "Come on, I'll take you to Recovery Girl's office. I'll let the others know what happened afterwards."

"'Kay… Sorry to take you away from your lunch, Haruna-chan."

"It's fine."

"If you're good to handle that on your own, then I'll be heading out now," Shinsou informs us, already beginning to slouch away with his back turned to us and hands in his pockets.

"Wait a sec."

His stride pauses, his head turning to direct a fatigued yet somehow still piercing gaze over his shoulder at me. This guy… ever since I first stumbled upon him the day of the exam, it's been obvious how much of a closed off, unfriendly person he can be. And yet he still chose to come to our aid when needed.

"Thank you — for helping us out, I mean."

"Yeah, your quirk came in handy back there! Thanks a lot!"

That sharp gaze lingers on the both of us for a moment longer before one of his hands comes to caress the back of his neck, his violet orbs averting back forward.

"It's the natural thing to do. Besides, I owed her one."

And with that, he slinks back off to whence he came all casual like. "Owed me one", huh? That moment when I felt an interest spark in his nature as a psychic type? Maybe it wasn't just because of that. He was going for the hero route, wasn't he? Guess I shouldn't be so surprised that he'd so readily come to our aid. But it doesn't seem like he managed to make it into the hero course. Judging from his quirk, I think I can take a crack at why. Regardless, he's an interesting guy, that Shinsou…

The sound of a wet, sticky kiss permeates the sterile environment of the nurse's office as the minuscule, elderly hero plants one where Hagakure's cheek should be. Hagakure lets loose a tiny squeak in surprise, clearly not having expected it.

Recovery Girl's grossly extended, puckered lips withdraw back into her own face as a warm, green glow outlines Hagakure's body, the healing energy of Recovery Girl's quirk. Healing quirks tend to be a pretty rare occurrence within the world's pool of quirks. It's even rarer for a pro-hero to have one. That being the case, when someone eventually does pop up with one, you'd figure they'd be the talk of the town in the hero sphere, but that isn't actually how it is — or, at least, not in Recovery Girl's case. As a pro, she is relatively well known, but not as much as someone with her quirk reasonably should be. In fact, people who dwell in medical circles like my Dad tend to be more familiar with her than anyone else due to how much work she puts in at various hospitals, which can tend to take up a lot of her focus outside of school. Rare quirk or no, it's those who are most active and visible on the hero scene who end up most firmly in the public consciousness.

"There, now my quirk will coax your injury into healing," Recovery Girl informs, her tiny form propped up on a stool next to Hagakure's bed. "Fortunately, that boy didn't press down hard enough to cause a full break — merely a tiny stress fracture. You should be fine after a bit of rest, dear."

Hagakure giggles a bit. "It kinda makes me feel all tingly on the inside — like I've got butterflies or something."

Recovery Girl offers up a small chuckle of her own, giving the girl an amicable smile. "That's the after effects of my quirk in action. You'll also be feeling a bit drained of energy, but that's normal. I'd say you'll be good to go not long after the start of your afternoon classes."

"Aww… Guess that means I don't get to finish my lunch, then."

Ahh, right. Hagakure wasn't even anywhere near being finished. Hmm..

"I can go retrieve your tray. If that's okay with Recovery Girl, that is." I direct a questioning gaze over at the nurse.

"Well, if you're going to do so, you might as well hurry on along with it. Thanks to all that madness, you don't have much time left before lunch is over."

"Right."

As I start toward the exit, Hagakure's voice calling my name makes me pause my stride to gaze back at her.

There's something in the set of her shoulders that's more subdued than her usual, upbeat energy. It causes me to give her my full attention.

"Did you notice? When we were in the hallway before… you actually called me by my name."

There's a pause between us as my mind returns to the time in question.

"Are you okay, Tooru-chan? How's your leg?"

…

…Huh.

"You know… I guess I did."

She giggles some more. There's a smile written all over her sunny demeanor.

-oOo-

"Let's revisit the subject of class representatives. Have you all managed to come to a decision?"

As promised, our afternoon classes kick off with our sleepy, hobo-esque teacher reserving the first few minutes for class rep stuff, namely attempting to break the tie that stymied the class before.

Before the lunch panic, I might have thought this whole revote thing to be a bit tedious considering how unwilling everyone seemed to pick anyone but themselves, but I get the feeling sentiments aren't the same as they once were. There's an almost palpable shift to the classroom air in the wake of Aizawa's question, a sort of reflective energy coming into existence. I bet I know what they're all thinking back on — the same thing I am.

And, sure enough, one person chooses to vocalize what we're all clearly thinking.

"Aizawa-sensei, I'd like to change my vote. I think there's someone who deserves it more than me."

Midoriya. All attention goes to the greenette boy as he continues.

"You've probably heard about it by now, Sensei, but Iida-kun was able to command complete control of that crazy situation at lunch," he says, the slightly nervous look on his face fading away to a passionate resolve as he nearly shouts, "I think he should be the class rep instead! I'll give him my vote!"

A soft murmur kicks up afterwards, more than several turning to give their seatmates meaningful looks. Aizawa, however, seems unconvinced.

"That's all well and good, but that would still give Iida only one vote. So unless anyone else agrees—"

"Actually, Sensei, I kinda agree with Midoriya."

Kirishima, his hand raised to bring attention to himself.

"I mean, it was super manly how Iida managed to get control over the crowd like that. Yeah, why not? I'm in!"

Aizawa's expression doesn't shift any. "That still only gives him two vo—"

"Count me in, too, Aizawa-sensei!"

Kaminari.

Looks like it only takes the first few speaking up for the floodgates to open, as, one by one, others give their blessings for our ever uptight classmate to take the reins as class representative, effectively breaking the tie.

In the end, Aizawa declares Iida to be the representative of Class 1-A, with Yaoyorozu backing him up as deputy. It's an admittedly favorable outcome. Contrary to my earlier thoughts on the subject, I think Iida's (unintentionally) proven that we should be in good hands so long as he can avoid remaining too uptight about things. But then, I trust Yaoyorozu to be able to reign in anything of that sort should he ever go overboard. They'll make a good combination, I'm sure.

With that finally out of the way, Aizawa sees fit to launch straight into an explanation of today's task for Heroics.

"Today, you'll be undergoing a different kind of training than you have so far. It's an area of focus important for any aspiring hero to master, so be sure to take it as seriously as you do combat training," he says, the sharp warning in his tone causing a couple members of the class to visibly tense up in anticipation.

"In addition, I won't be the only one overlooking your training; All Might will be there along with one other person."

A few gasps resound around the room at that. Even though we haven't been training for very long, it is indeed unusual to have so many different instructors overseeing our training at once. I wonder… could it perhaps have something to do with the ordeal from earlier? We still have no idea at all how all those reporters managed to get past the school's defenses.

"What type of training is it, Aizawa-sensei?" Sero inquires impatiently, obviously not really feeling Aizawa's drawn out introduction.

Aizawa plucks a small card from the podium. One word is written on it gleaming, gradient text—"Rescue. You'll be dealing with all manner of natural disasters. Shipwrecks, fires—things like that."

Hm… Rescue training, huh?

"Wait, seriously? Rescue? Looks like we're really getting into it!"

"You bet!"

"Sounds like a real man's challenge! I'm getting so freakin' pumped!"

"He said shipwrecks. I'll get to show off my frog skills, ribbit."

No question about how everyone else feels about the rescue training. The general mood elevates from nervous anticipation to enthusiastic glee for what our teachers have in store for us, but… looking around at everyone's excited faces, I find myself having a hard time matching their excitement all of a sudden. As our first foray into something so crucial to our hero development, it's an occasion worth all the excitement in the world, and yet… something just feels… off. That odd incident from earlier as well as the fact that no one's even bothered to give us an explanation on why it happened — these two things hang over my head like an ever-present cloud of uncertainty.

Truthfully, my mind's been stuck on this since the moment Shinsou, Hagakure, and I saw the reporters through that window. I was just thinking earlier about how impenetrable the school is — or, rather, how impenetrable it should be. Simple reporters? It just shouldn't have been possible… Not a chance.

"Oh man, aren't you just so excited for this, Haru-chan? This is gonna be so cool!" my always bubbly seatmate chirps, having returned from Recovery Girl a bit after the class rep stuff concluded.

Her arms sway lightly back and forth in time with the rest of her body, as if dancing to the tune of her own little private melody. Well, she's completely unbothered…

In fact, no one else seems the slightest bit concerned. Even Aizawa, with his usual air of drowsy austerity on full display, seems to be nothing but business as usual as he wrangles the class back down to a calmer level. It's almost like it never even happened at all.

…Perhaps I'm just overreacting. I mean, if not even the teachers are worried about it, why should we be? And I guess I am excited to use my gear again.

So, as Aizawa bids us to ready ourselves and our outfits for training, I resolve myself to put the matter to rest, swiveling in my seat a bit to give Hagakure a delayed but affirming nod.

"I'm sure it'll be a lot of fun."

"Welcome, everyone! I've been eagerly awaiting your arrival!"

To no great surprise, the venue of our rescue training exists on the part of campus containing the biggest training areas, warranting the need for transportation. After a somewhat hectic bus ride, who should be here to greet us but one of the world's most recognizable figures of rescue work, Thirteen.

"Oh, wow! It's the Space Hero in the flesh! Ah, it totally makes sense to see someone like Thirteen here considering the amount of people she's managed to save!" Midoriya exclaims, his clenched fists, wide orbs, and big smile a mile wide all but screaming "fan boy".

"Yes! I LOVE Thirteen! She's one of my favorites!" Uraraka shouts at his side, looking even more thrilled than him. If that's even possible.

Well, those two are definitely fans of Thirteen's legacy. It's for good reason, though. Aizawa wasn't kidding when he told us earlier how important rescuing is in the life of a hero. I mean, sure, most of the heroic feats covered in the news deal with villain takedowns — you know, epic battles and total, buttkicking baddassery? That kind of thing. That's only because of how much the public tends to eat that stuff up, though (I mean, hey, who doesn't love a good fight?). If villain battles make up the biggest percentage of hero news, then footage of rescues probably comes in at a close second. And there's no one who tends to embody the spirit of rescuing more than the space suit-clad hero right in front of us. She's not super popular or anything, but among the world's most noteworthy rescue heroes, you'll find Thirteen nearer to the top.

"Let's go in, shall we? You'll get to see all that I have prepared for you!"

"YEAH!" everyone shouts in unison.

Several minutes later, our venue is revealed in its full splendor. Not that the building seemed anywhere near small beforehand, but, man… you just wouldn't expect the grandness of its interior layout just looking at its compact, spherical shape from the outside. It's one of those things where you just kinda have to see it yourself.

And there's no better spot to view it from than our current position — beneath the welcome gate perched atop a lengthy flight of stairs which overlook the scenery from on high. An amalgamation of different areas all rolled into one features an urban landscape of dilapidated buildings, sloped terrain near a gathering of mountains, and a lake with a ship visible at its center — and that's to say nothing of the two other areas that lie within huge, dome-shaped enclosures, one with a painting of flames on its roof and the other with a pattern of clouds and rain droplets. Oh, and there's a pristine little fountain surrounded by its own garden right at the center of it all. What an incredible place…

Amidst all the oh and ah-ing of my fellow hero trainees, Thirteen launches into an introduction of the sight before us.

"Shipwrecks, landslides, fires, windstorms, and more! I made this training facility with any type of natural disaster in mind to prepare you to deal with it all," she informs, gesturing grandly all the while.

"The name? The Unforeseen Simulation Joint or USJ for short!"

That's… surprisingly unoriginal. I mean, we already knew about the name from our introduction papers, but just hearing it said out loud makes it even more obvious how much that name copies Universal Studios Japan. Copyright much?

"By the way, Thirteen… where exactly is All Might right now? Does something have him preoccupied?" Aizawa inquires, strolling over to stand next to her.

"Um, about that…"

Thirteen lowers her voice to a whisper, and the two engage in a quiet conversation away from the rest of us, causing more than a few eyebrows to rise, including my own. …What's that about? Is there any particular reason they wouldn't want us overhearing?

"…Anyway, let's get back to it," Aizawa drones, stepping away to take up his prior position leaning against the gate, arms crossed, eyes lidded.

"Great! Then allow me to talk about one thing before we start! Well, actually, two things — no, three… Well, maybe four—"

"All right already!" several people shout irritably, Thirteen shrinking back a bit in response. Guess she really is eager for this. Maybe a little too eager.

Her momentum returns with a somber shift in her demeanor, one of her gloved hands coming forward to rest before us.

"Listen well, everyone… I'm sure you're all aware of my quirk, Black Hole." She gestures to her hand. "It's extremely powerful and can suck up anything in its path."

"Yeah! You've used it to save tons of people from all sorts of disasters in the past! It's really amazing!" Midoriya declares, Uraraka vigorously bobbing her head up and down to his words.

"That's true, but it's also a quirk that could be used to kill in an instant."

Their faces quickly fall at that.

"Some of you standing before me also have quirks like that." Her eyes move to address the whole class.

"In the society we live in, quirks are regulated to a rigorous degree. That can cause us to forget how easily chaos can result from just one mishap."

So true. Since the times when quirks first appeared, there have been laws in place to make sure things stay as they are now. People aren't even allowed to use quirks freely in public outside of emergencies or occupation work. The restrictions really can be quite harsh and the punishments for breaking them even moreso. Plenty of people have wracked up heavy fines for unauthorized quirk usage — in some instances, jail time, too. But considering how bad things were said to be way back when, I guess we can't really complain about it too much. I mean, we're taught all the time in school about the total disarray society had fallen into due to all the unrestricted quirk use. One of the examples they always teach us about involves a guy whose quirk ended up supposedly scrambling the brains of a whole crowd of people at once, causing mass hysteria. Most, if not all, of the victims experienced permanent brain damage so severe they were left in vegetative states for the rest of their lives. Supposedly. Looking back, he was probably an early example of a psychic type quirk-user. I've always suspected that story to be a big part of the bad rap psychics tend to get. But, anyway…

"…you all should keep in mind how easily your quirks can cause destruction, even if you're just trying to use them for a good cause like saving someone."

Oops. I really should stop letting my mind wander while we're being lectured, shouldn't I?

But ya know what…? I wonder if this is the reason why Thirteen's only ever really involved in rescue work. I once saw an interview where she revealed it was always her intent to become a rescue hero rather than a combat-focused one. I guess when you have a quirk that would make it a bit too easy to suck a villain out of existence in seconds flat — and we all know what a taboo it is for a hero to kill a villain — an aversion to combat may be somewhat expected. Besides, her ability really is top notch at saving people from the wreckage of disasters. It's probably the most productive way to use it, so she definitely had the right idea there.

"…that's the essence of being a hero, saving others!"

Crap. Did it again. I should really work on that…

Thirteen concludes her message on quirk safety by thanking us for listening, giving an animated bow to the sound of applause. You know, Thirteen seems like a pretty vibrant person. With how much quirks tend to influence our natures and personalities, you kinda wouldn't expect her to be. I'd think she'd act a lot more severe or scary like her quirk. It makes me wanna peek in on her Heart Hue and see what it's like.

…

…Well, now that I'm thinking of it, there's no way I can just not do it, right? Right.

Amplifier: on. Dial: one-fourth max output.

Pulling my goggles down flush against my eyes, the soft click of the activation switch precedes the sudden glare of the scanner as it comes to life, everything around me dissolving into flickers of energy.

Thirteen's Heart Hue shines before me in a startlingly pale shade of blue, the outer edges tinged with a sort of ghastly, deep, inky blackness. The two colors appear to be in a constant state of separation, never once intruding upon the other, never merging together — separate but coexisting within the same aura. Fascinating…

Heart Hues are a reflection of a person's inner nature. I wonder what this new discovery says about her? That almost white shade of blue goes along with her vibrancy, but the black? I wonder if that's the part that relates to her quirk. I wonder if she—

Blip.

Blip.

Huh? Two new signatures pop into existence.

Blip. Blip.

Blip. Blip. Blip.

Blipblipblipblip—

A crowd of new readings. On the far edge of the display's sensory range is a building mass of them.

Blipblipblipblipblip—

More of them. They're not even really visible — the colors are faded and barely perceivable yet they're being picked up on like they're right here in the building. Like they're coming through some sort of ether… Uhh, what in the absolute—

BlipblipBlip!Blip!Blip!—

Like the savage swing of a jackhammer against my skull, a sensation that I can only describe as prickling, piercing, malicious intent slams against my senses the very moment the readings break into greater clarity on the scanner, causing my knees to buckle against one another.

There's a part of me that registers the sudden spikes of concerned lavender coloring the Heart Hues of the two standing on either side of me — Kirishima and Uraraka — but most of my focus remains locked dead ahead on the pile of new ones.

As those readings continue to grow in number and sharpen in color, a sense of numb dread falls over me like the shock of ice cold water. Because these people… this mass of people emanating such foul auras… have to be villains. Invading villains.

Somehow, they are making their way into the USJ.

Frick.

Blip!Blip!Blip!Blip!Blip!

Frickity frick. They just keep coming…!

Blip!Blip!BLIP!BLIP!

This is bad. Super freakin' bad.

"All right… Now that that's done—"

"Aizawa-sensei."

A tiny streak of white shock appears within his charcoal gray Heart Hue at the note of alarm present within my voice.

"Sorry to interrupt," I start, "but you should know that I've just picked up on a bunch of incoming signatures."

…

Nothing.

The total lack of reaction — nothing but a collectively curious brown — tells me that I haven't made myself clear enough.

It appears to have been enough for Aizawa, though, the white streak now nearly claiming dominance over his base shade.

"Can you tell who they are?" he questions, that lazy drawl nowhere to be found. Based on his razor-sharp tone, I'm sure his expression must be no less sharp.

"No, but I do know that every single one of them is emanating a foul feeling. I think it's bloodlust — one so strong I can feel it without projecting my quirk. I suspect that they're invading villains. And they're almost—"

As if cued by my warning, the display gives me notice of a potent power coming from somewhere beyond view before the overhead lights malfunction in a mess of sparking protest, their bright beams flickering out of existence.

The room darkens to a somber gloom. Light streams forth through the windows in splotchy rivulets. I can faintly feel the waves of trepidation flowing from the unsettled auras of every last person here.

But nothing dyes that fear a deeper purple than the unwelcome sight in front of the now turbulent fountain waters.

Like the yawning maw of a predator coming to partake of the slaughter, a small dot of color enlarges into a massive cloud of dark, swirling mist.

Through that mist emerges what feels like the single greatest rage I've ever felt in my entire life, along with a Heart Hue blacker than the devil's own nightmares.

If only I'd been able to pick up on this sooner. It hadn't been in time to matter…

No time to lament it now, though.

The invasion is here.

Author's Corner

Apologies for the lateness of this chapter. I have just started a career as a game writer, which cuts into the time I have for personal projects like this one. I've decided to make up for it by posting longer chapters with each update, so I hope you enjoy it. This chapter is 7K words. Not a whopper or anything, but it's a start. Future chapters will probably get longer.

I've also been taking time to spruce up or otherwise alter things in prior chapters, so if you notice differences, that would be why. It's mainly things like correctiond or rewordings done to make things flow better. Sorry, had to do it. Some of that stuff was too darn cringe. Funny how much a writing style can develop in a short amount of time. Probably have my job go thank for that. Anyway, I will warn of bigger changes should they happen— case in point, Hagakure's aura description from the first chapter has been altered. I've decided to make these a lot more direct so that it gives a clearer picture of auras being connected to quirks.

Here are some definitions:

Signature: The light/glow that Haruna sees when using her sensing ability. Represents a person's/being's presence.

Heart Hue: Specifically refers to the color of a person's signature.

Aura: The feelings Haruna senses from others. Everyone's aura gives off a unique sort of feeling. Emotions also travel through a person's aura. She is only able to feel sensations and emotions by directly using her quirk; the scanner functionality of her gear only gives visuals. However, very intense emotions have a tendency of getting through to her regardless of whether or not her quirk is in direct use.

For the sake of clarity, I'll probably post these definitions at the end of future chapters.

Also, in case you were ever wondering, Haruna cannot perceive faces and expressions when viewing signatures. They're just bright beacons of light, after all. She can still perceive objects and the surrounding environment.

Heart Hue Series:

Jirou: Pearl White.

Yaoyorozu: Shimmering Pink.

Kaminari: Electric Yellow.

Hagakure: Transparent

Thirteen: Mostly pale blue with black tinging the edges.

Aizawa: Charcoal grey.

Emotion Colors:

Surprise/Shock: White

Anger: Red

Love/Affection: Pink

Happiness: Yellow

Fear: Purple

Envy/Jealousy: Green

Sadness/Grief: Blue

Curiosity: Brown

Guess I'll add to these every time there's a new one. Bye for now~!