Yang Xiao was startled earlier and had blurted it out without thinking. After all, it was purely coincidental that Togata Mirio, one of the "Big Three" of U.A. High School, appeared here.
"Hehe..." Yang Xiao didn't say anything else, just smiled awkwardly.
Togata Mirio saw that Yang Xiao was unwilling to elaborate and didn't press further. Right now, subduing the criminal was the top priority. He looked at Yang Xiao and Toga and said, "You two should leave now. Leave this to me."
Yang Xiao stood up without any hesitation and left with Toga in another direction, managing to avoid being spotted by the criminal along the way.
Seeing there were no civilians left in the area, Togata Mirio stepped out directly from behind the stone pillar. After glancing at the criminal on the second-floor waiting area, he leaped up and charged forward.
"This is..." Yamato Isamu suddenly saw a figure rushing towards the criminal and was also startled. Once he realized who it was, he knew—Togata Mirio, a student from U.A. High School, one of the Big Three.
To be honest, he, as a professional hero, wasn't as capable as Togata Mirio. Mirio had been exceptionally outstanding in previous Sports Festivals. Basically, the Big Three dominated the rankings, while professional heroes like him, who came through formal channels, were actually somewhat inferior to these students in certain aspects.
Of course, it depended on the individual and their Quirk. A powerful Quirk would be fully manifested in a genius. Yamato Isamu knew that Togata Mirio wasn't necessarily a genius, but he worked harder than one, which was how he had achieved his current level.
Yamato Isamu saw Togata Mirio, and the other police officers saw him too. They didn't have time to stop him; Togata Mirio was already in front of Muratake.
Muratake was in a frenzied state and was startled by this sudden arrival. Without thinking, he swung the machine gun in his right hand towards Togata Mirio.
However, all he hit were clothes and pants; the bullets swept through empty air. Just as he was confused, his neck suddenly tightened, then everything went black, and he knew nothing more.
After putting his clothes and pants back on, Togata Mirio waved to the police downstairs. "I've knocked the criminal out. Come up and take him away."
After saying that, he turned to the hostages. "Is anyone injured?"
The hostages were all a bit dazed. In the blink of an eye, the vicious criminal had been knocked unconscious. Who was this person? How could he be so powerful?
The police immediately rushed up and restrained Muratake. The officer in charge approached Togata Mirio, looked him up and down, and said, "Are you a professional hero, or...?"
"Temporary Professional Hero License."
Togata Mirio directly took out his certificate. The lead officer was stunned. It was normal that he didn't know Togata Mirio. The police and professional heroes were different, handling different cases. Seeing Togata Mirio produce a temporary hero license surprised him.
After all, the temporary license was for students. It was rare for a student to subdue a criminal so effortlessly. He had never seen anyone like that before.
"Officer Shi, this is Togata Mirio from U.A. High School. He already has a qualification certificate, so no investigation is needed." Yamato Isamu also rushed over and shook hands with Togata Mirio to express his thanks.
He was genuinely grateful. If Togata Mirio hadn't arrived, not only he but also the police would have had trouble breaking through the criminal's defense, especially since the criminal held the high ground with a clear view.
...
"Finally out..." Yang Xiao pretended to be frightened.
"If I hadn't called you, you wouldn't have taken the initiative to leave, right?" Toga looked at Yang Xiao with a smile. She felt the boy in front of her wasn't as timid as she had thought.
She had expected Yang Xiao to run away immediately when the riot started, or even be scared witless.
But that didn't happen. Not only did Yang Xiao not flee immediately, he hid in a corner observing the criminal's actions. Could an ordinary middle school student do that?
Yang Xiao could see what Toga was thinking in her eyes, but what worried him most wasn't Toga's suspicions—it was Togata Mirio.
There was no other reason than the fact that Yang Xiao and Toga were together today. One day in the future, Toga would be put on the wanted list by the police and professional heroes, becoming one of the villains of the League of Villains.
And he, Yang Xiao, was now associated with a future criminal. Obviously, one didn't need to guess the outcome. When the time came, it might not be Togata Mirio who found him first, but U.A. High School and the police who would take him away first.
The only way to resolve this was to pull Toga back before she entered the dark side—meaning Yang Xiao had to eliminate those thoughts from her mind from the start.
Only then could Toga be redeemed and work honestly at the Broken House.
Yang Xiao didn't know if this counted as changing the plot, but he couldn't worry too much about that. If he could save one person, he would save one.
"We can't take the train from this station. Let's go to another one." Yang Xiao didn't explain what Toga had just said. He didn't want to explain such things; the more you explain, the more guilty you seem.
Just as Toga was about to say something else, Usaki Gin called. "Xiao Yang, I heard there was a riot at a bullet train station in Kanagawa. Are you okay?"
"What a coincidence, we were at that very station waiting for a train when the riot happened. But there's no danger," Yang Xiao continued, "We're changing stations now, so we might be back a bit later."
"It's fine if it's a little later, as long as you're safe." Yoshiyin finally felt relieved and hung up after chatting with Yang Xiao for a bit.
Yang Xiao and Toga took a taxi to another bullet train station and then smoothly returned to the Broken House.
On the way, Toga kept thinking about Yang Xiao's behavior at the station. After much thought, she reached several conclusions: Yang Xiao's calmness might have been an act; in reality, he was probably scared to death. Only after the professional hero appeared did Yang Xiao stop being afraid; otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to leave the station.
Because that's how it should be, Toga felt. Yang Xiao was the type who seemed very capable and flawless on the surface, but was actually panicking inside.
Yang Xiao didn't know that Toga was thinking of him this way. If he had known, he would have been pleased. The weaker she thought he was, the more ordinary and safe he would be.
In fact, it wouldn't be difficult for Yang Xiao to defeat Toga now, but it wasn't necessary. The main point was that Yang Xiao wanted to pull Toga out of the darkness, to at least ensure she wouldn't be in the enemy camp in the future.
Otherwise, if Yang Xiao's reformation failed and she joined the League of Villains, his life would be difficult once exposed.
After all, entering U.A. High School was Yang Xiao's next goal, and his future life was inseparable from U.A. High.