SIDE Deku.
"Today's Hero Basics class... will be supervised by me, All Might, and one more person, making it a three-man team."
"Yeees! What are we gonna do!?"
Morning classes had ended, and now it was time for Hero Basics.
Sero reacted to Aizawa-sensei's opening words.
Shota Aizawa, our homeroom teacher, is the Erasure Hero: Eraser Head.
Well, all the teachers here at U.A. are pro heroes. We call him "Aizawa-sensei" because he introduced himself that way, but the others are usually addressed by their hero names—like Present Mic for English, or Cementoss for Japanese. They're all famous, top-class heroes. ...Though, honestly, when I first met him, I couldn't have imagined Aizawa-sensei was Eraser Head. I mean... can you really picture such a worn-out looking guy being a pro hero...?
...Anyway, back to the point.
Class 1-A is a hero course made up of 25 boys and girls.
Sero, who just spoke, is one of them. His Quirk is Tape.
He can shoot detachable tape from both arms. Just hearing it doesn't sound like much, but it has a high capture ability, and he can even build barricades. It's actually a really good Quirk.
"Whatever the disaster—flood, storm—you name it! Today's about life-saving rescue training!!"
"Rescue, huh! This sounds tough..."
"Rescue... looks like it's gonna be rough again."
"Right?"
"Idiot! This is the very essence of being a hero! My arms are tingling!!"
"If it's water rescues, leave it to me, ribbit."
"...Aizawa-sensei."
While the class mood-makers got hyped, a quiet hand went up.
The silence in that action drew everyone's attention, one by one, until the room fell still.
"Since this is rescue during a disaster, does that mean villains aren't being considered in the exercise?"
"You mean there won't be scenarios like kidnappings or hostage situations?"
"Yes."
The one who spoke was Yukinoshita-san from yesterday. She looked... troubled, almost pained. A few others also had tense expressions.
"Not this time. The only opponent here is the disaster itself... But don't take it lightly."
"...Understood."
"...Though, I doubt you'd need to worry about that."
...?
What's that supposed to mean? Do they know each other?
"Yukinoshita... you're kinda overthinking this, aren't you?"
"...What are you implying, Kawasaki-san?"
"Don't tell me you're not aware? No way."
The one provoking Yukinoshita-san was a girl with bluish-black hair tied in a ponytail. Apparently her name is Kawasaki. I don't really know what her Quirk is. During the combat training two days ago, I fainted in the first match, so I never got to see the later battles. I did get to learn about some classmates' Quirks when we all hung out after school, but I still don't know hers. Kind of a shame. Like Kacchan, she and a few others left right away that day.
"Why don't you just say it outright? I'll give you as much of a reaction as you want."
"Hah... So that's your way of saying you want to throw down?"
"W-wait! You two! Stop this at once!"
Whoa... the atmosphere got tense in an instant!
Iida rushed in to mediate, looking very serious. He's the class president now, and he's really throwing himself into keeping things organized.
"It's fine, it's fine, Glasses-kun! Besides, look at these two!"
"!? What's this about all of a sudden!?"
"Hilarious, right?"
"What part of this is funny!?"
"Look at Yukinoshita-san!"
"Mhmm."
"Now look at Saki-chan!"
"Mhmm."
"See!? Hilarious!!"
"I don't get it at all!!"
The one suddenly bursting into laughter was Orimoto, I think. She and Yuigahama-san are the typical "gal" type girls. Since they're in the Hero Course, they must want to be heroes, but honestly it's hard to picture. As for her Quirk... when I asked, she just said, "Ehh? Well, you know... yeah!" and I never got an answer. Pretty sure she dodged the question.
"I don't think it's a big deal. Yukinoshita-san and Kawasaki-san are always like this."
"Ugh... Still, Totsuka-kun! As class president, I cannot dismiss quarrels as mere trifles! You two, calm down at once!!"
The one trying to gently soothe Iida was Ayaka Totsuka. Short, small-headed, neat features, big eyes—anyone would think he's a girl at first glance. But he's actually a boy. Unfortunately, that's a sore spot for him. On the first day, Kaminari—whose Quirk is Electricity and who tends to be pretty flashy—went up to him saying, "You're really cute! I'm Kaminari, by the way! But why are you crossdressing? Or... maybe... not?"
That made Totsuka almost cry, and Yuigahama fiercely scolded Kaminari. She shouted, "Mixing up someone's gender is unforgivable!! Once is more than enough!!"
"You should calm down yourself."
"If you're the class president, be more composed."
"Ughh... Yukinoshita-san and Kawasaki-san are seriously scary..."
"But those eyes... man, I wouldn't mind being looked down on like that."
"Right? And they're both super cute..."
"Hey, we're still in the middle of class—"
Aizawa-sensei's voice cut in, sharp enough to make you imagine the sound "glare." Instantly, the whole class went stiff and silent, all eyes front.
Sighing, he continued the explanation.
"For today, whether you wear your costumes is up to you. Some costumes limit your activity, after all. The training ground is a bit far, so we'll take the bus. That's all—get ready."
With a quick flick of the remote, he summoned our costumes and ended the instructions.
In my mind, the same video I've watched thousands, tens of thousands of times started playing again.
"Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!!"
Amid flaming rubble and collapsing buildings...
"You're safe now! Why, you ask!?"
Carrying a dozen people on his back, smiling in complete contrast to their fear...
"Because I am here!!"
I admired him.
I will become a hero like All Might.
I'll do it—because I've inherited his Quirk, and earned the right to!
__________________________________________________________
"Yuigahama-san, did you bring your costume?"
"Yup!"
"Good. Then let's get going."
"Yukinon, Yui-chan, let's go together!"
"...All right."
"Sai-chan, let's go, Saki-saki!"
"Ah, okay."
"...Rescue training, huh."
The five who had made a bit of noise earlier were now leaving the classroom together.
"Those five seem oddly close."
"Since Yukinoshita-san and Yuigahama-san are with them, could they be from the Sobu group?"
"Hmm... they all look like strong personalities. Will they really get along...?"
"Nah, not me, curly-kun!"
"Whoa!?"
"Yo-su~"
Orimoto-san!! Sparkle sparkle sparkle sparkle!!
"Huh? What's wrong, curly-kun?"
"Please give him some space, Orimoto-kun..."
"D-Deku-kun, you okay?"
"Y-yeah, I'm fine... OK, I'm fine..."
"So, what do you mean you're different? You're the only one not part of it?"
"Ah—yeah, pretty much. Back in middle school, I had a chance to meet Yukinoshita-san and the others. From then on, we did hero training together."
I couldn't hide my surprise hearing that Orimoto-san had been training with her Quirk since middle school.
All Might had said something similar before: Sobu Middle School, located within U.A.'s grounds, actually conducts Hero Course training from the middle school level.
That kind of student is extremely rare—most kids just go through the General Course. But the tiny handful who do receive training early end up being exceptionally skilled. After all, they start hero training one or two years earlier than we do in high school. They should be far ahead of us.
But schools capable of this are so few in Japan you could count them on one hand. Issues of safety and ethics are barriers most middle schools can't overcome.
"Well, I'm not from there, but... it's true Yukinoshita-san and the others are Sobu Middle alumni."
"Yukinoshita-san, huh... I have to agree with Kawasaki-san. She's clearly under a lot of pressure."
"Well... who wouldn't be?"
"Why's that, Orimoto-chan?"
"Kaori's fine, Ochako-chan! ...See, Yukinoshita-san and the others—they're chasing a certain villain."
"A villain!?"
"Could it be... that man made of black mist?"
"...Eh?"
The moment I said "the man of black mist," Orimoto-san's eyes clearly changed.
Her already big eyes opened even wider, she gasped, and her hand twitched for a moment.
"...Why do you know about that?"
"W-well, the other day, Yukinoshita-san told me directly..."
"...Hah. Seriously, she's got no shame at all, does she, Yukinoshita-san."
"...Though... she wasn't wrong to tell you."
With a sigh, Orimoto-san's expression returned to normal.
"That villain... stole something precious from us. That's why we're searching for him, trying to get it back."
"Something... precious?"
"If you ever see him, report it immediately—no questions asked. I'm sure it's something important to the heroes and the police too."
"Ah... okay."
Orimoto-san quickly ran off toward the group of four.
"...Most likely, she's involved too..."
"Yeah, no doubt."
"...Those people already have something they need to protect."
Something they need to protect.
Uraraka-san's words stuck in my ears.
...Could it be... that incident with the black mist man two years ago...
A kidnapping...?
__________________________________________________________
Yukinon surely can't choose.
Even knowing that, I declared it to Hikki and Yukinon. That I would take it all.
I never thought Hikki would stop me.
And that's when, for the first time, a small wish was born inside Yukinon.
"I also... no. I want to stay with Hikigaya-kun and Yuigahama-san. With Yuigahama-san... as a friend."
And so, the two requests from Yukinon and me, and the request from Hikki.
Hikki, who accepted our two requests, gave us an answer—though uncertainly.
At last, we could begin to walk forward.
...But... back then...
__________________________________________________________
"...Huh?"
"O-oh? What is it, Yuigahama. You're saying it's still too early to jump to conclusions, or rather, you haven't decided yet, or maybe we should wait a bit longer—"
"There's... something black..."
"It's not a cloud. It's too close. Could it be a Quirk...?"
"...!! You guys, get back!! Run!!"
"Eh!?"
"No hero has a Quirk like that! No mistake—it's a villain!!"
"Your judgment is quick as expected... Black Nova."
"Eh!? We're surrounded...!"
"Yuigahama!!"
"Hikigaya-kun, from behind too...!!"
"Damn it!!!"
"Nice to meet you, Hikigaya Hachiman. We've come to take you with us."
"Eh..."
"What did you say!?"
"...!! ...I see. You're not planning to let us go, are you."
"N-no way..."
"...What are you thinking about right now?"
"!! I won't let you do anything!!"
"C'mon... at least let me do... this much...!!"
"Hi-Hikki!!!"
"No! Put him down right now, Hikigaya-kun!!!"
"It's a warp Quirk. Impossible is impossible. I'll quietly fulfill my purpose and go home. Yukinoshita, run to a hero office immediately. From here, Endeavor's is the closest."
"Wait!! Stop! Stop it!!!!""!! No...! No, Hikkiiiiiiiiiiiiii!!!!"
__________________________________________________________
The ground shifted and flowed. Yukinon and I couldn't move.
The backs of the four creepy big men, the man of black mist... and Hikki grew distant.
As the facility at the beachside park exploded and black smoke rose, Yukinon and I, crying, ran up to Endeavor's office.