Chapter 15: USJ
...
We soon arrived at our destination, the USJ. It looked huge… like something straight out of a sci-fi movie.
As we got off the bus, we saw our third instructor, Thirteen, who began explaining the facility. They explained us it was called the "Unforeseen Simulation Joint," or "USJ" for short. Honestly, I was more focused on how cool her hero costume looked.
Then Aizawa-sensei quietly talked with Thirteen, likely about All Might, as he seemed concerned about his absence. I couldn't hear their conversation, but it was clear that All Might wouldn't be coming for some reason.
While Aizawa and Thirteen were discussing why All Might wasn't there, I noticed Uraraka standing nearby in her hero costume so I decided to approach the cheerful and excited girl.
Let me tell you, her costume is… well, distracting. Like, whoever designed it clearly wasn't thinking about how guys like me might react. Tight black suit with pink accents? Seriously? It's not like I wanted to stare, but c'mon! It's like they wanted me to fail at being a gentleman.
But hey, it looked absolutely incredible on her. It was a little tight… Okay, it's way too tight. But that only made it stand out more…
Honestly, I wasn't sure if it was on purpose… but she probably didn't pick it, right? Or did she?
Although I'd heard it was a design error. But, really, I wasn't complaining. On the contrary, my deepest respects to the one who made her hero costume.
The black suit contrasted perfectly with the pale and dark pink accents, and those lines running along her torso seemed designed to draw attention… well, my attention. The spheres on her chest and the pink accessories gave her a modern, yet somehow… how to put it? Cute and sexy vibe. A dangerous combination.
And her hair... That bob cut with those long strands framing her face always makes her naturally rosy cheeks look even more adorable. Her big, bright eyes seemed even livelier under the visor. And those long lashes? Impossible to ignore. Sometimes I wonder if she knows how good it all looks. I mean, she has to know… right?
Not a huge fan of the chunky boots she wears, with those thick shock-absorbing soles, but even with that, she still looked amazing. That mix of sweet and hot? Dangerous, man.
Oh crap, am I staring too much? Look at her face, Kaminari! Her face!
As I walked up to talk to her, watching her move in that outfit, I had to remind myself not to stare like a fool. But, damn, that suit fit her way too well.
"Umm, so, Thirteen is really famous, Uraraka?" I asked, trying to start a casual conversation and I honestly didn't know much about her. But Uraraka seemed to admire her, so it felt like the perfect conversation starter. Yep, I'm super smart—envy my genius, mere mortals.
"Of course!" she said and nodded enthusiastically, lighting up like a firework. Her bubbly energy shining as she flashed me a bright smile and began excitedly explaining how incredible Thirteen was. Naturally, my focus was less on her words and more on how certain parts of her amazing, uh, form moved with every gesture she made.
I tried to keep up… But the way she moved in that outfit made it really hard to concentrate. Not on purpose, obviously. Uraraka's way too sweet for that. But still, my eyes had a mind of their own.
'Focus, Kaminari! Her face! At least look at her face!' I kept repeating myself, yet no success.
So I at least, still tried to act like I was listening intently, nodding here and there like an idiot while my gaze was clearly somewhere else entirely—not her face, that's for sure.
"..."
Unfortunately, Thirteen cut our "conversation" short with an announcement. She explained her Quirk and how dangerous it was, leaving us all in silence.
And so, Thirteen began giving us a whole lecture about the responsible use of our quirks.
"If you lose focus, your abilities could cause more harm than good…" she explained. But, as usual, my mind started wandering, and I didn't really pay much attention to what she was saying. Maybe if she were a more attractive teacher like Midnight, I'd be more interested in her boring speech… Who am I kidding? I'd probably just be distracted by Midnight's sexy figure instead.
My thoughts were interrupted as everyone else started clapping… Thirteen had finished her speech and was now bowing while my classmates cheered and applauded.
Damn it, I really hoped she hadn't said anything important.
"Wow!"
"That was incredible!" Uraraka cheered.
"Bravo! Bravoo!" Even Iida was shouting now.
Okay… desperate situations call for desperate measures. Just go with the flow.
That's right—I nodded my head and clapped confidently, as if I'd understood every word and was super impressed by it all.
Aizawa started to say something, but then the lights suddenly went out. I looked around, trying to figure out what was going on, and that's when I saw it: the fountain in the center of the facility. The water began swirling, forming a whirlpool... no, an opening. A portal had appeared in the center of the fountain, and through it, people started coming out…
Was this part of the training? No way. This wasn't part of the plan. I was sure of it—my whole body was screaming, Danger!
But that couldn't be right. We were at UA—the UA. This was supposed to be one of the safest places in the world. Besides, my so-called danger sense had let me down before in some seriously embarrassing ways.
"..."
Aizawa-sensei got ready to fight, which only confirmed we were in real danger. He yelled at us, his voice more serious and worried than I'd ever heard it. I'd never seen him like this.
"Huddle together and don't move!" he shouted, his tone making me even more nervous.
"Huh?" Several of us mumbled dumbly, looking around in confusion. Everyone's faces mirrored the same bewilderment. But there was something… something in the air that made me feel like this was serious. This wasn't training.
Aizawa-sensei didn't waste any time.
"Thirteen!! Protect the students!" he shouted firmly, giving orders without hesitation.
Kirishima, of course, looked more confused than worried.
"What is that!?" he asked, staring at the sinister group of figures that were now appearing. "Is this like that training pattern at the entrance exam?"
At that moment, even I knew this wasn't training or anything like it. No, Kiribro, this was dangerous. If we didn't get out of here quickly, things could get worse. I was sure only a few of us had realized it so far since most of my classmates still looked confused, as if they didn't understand that our lives were literally on the line. This wasn't a simulation. This was real—and it was about to get ugly.
Aizawa-sensei shouted again.
"Don't move! Those are..." He paused, and his next word made my stomach drop. "Villains!"
My eyes widened. Villains? Here?! This wasn't a joke. This was life or death.
…I thought the worst thing I'd face today was flunking another quiz or dodging Bakugo's insults. Nope, turns out it's actual death. UA really delivers on the drama, huh?
Suddenly, a dark mist in human form spoke from the center of the group of villains, its voice strange and eerily calm.
"...Eraserhead and No. 13... According to the teachers' curriculum we procured yesterday, All Might was supposed to be here, and yet..."
Aizawa frowned.
"I knew it, so yesterday was the doing of you louts..."
Although I tried to make sense of it, I was too nervous to focus on the details. The only thing that mattered was surviving—and these villains made that seem impossible.
Among them was a man with blue-gray hair who stepped forward. This guy… he looked like a nightmare. Hands covered his entire body—even one on his face. Just seeing him sent chills down my spine.
"Where is he...?" he muttered, as if talking to himself. "We went through all this trouble and rustled up so many of us to bring along, you can't tell me All Might... The Symbol of Peace... Isn't here..."
I could barely hear his words—everything felt surreal. My eyes fixated on a massive, terrifying creature with a bird-like head standing beside him. Something about its presence made my hair stand on end.
I looked at my classmates, hoping to find someone who shared my panic, but they all seemed just as lost. Then I heard the hand-covered villain say something that made my blood run cold.
"I wonder if he'll show up if we kill the kids?"
They're… going to kill us? This wasn't just dangerous… this was a full-blown life-or-death situation. If we didn't get out of here, these villains wouldn't hesitate to finish us off.
"V-villains!? Get out of here!!" Kirishima shouted. And yeah, I totally agreed with him, but realistically, there was no way that was happening. This was seriously terrifying, and I wasn't sure if I could handle it.
I heard my classmates' voices, all equally confused, trying to process what was happening.
"What kinda numbskull could think honest-to-god villains would be able to just waltz into the hero home base!?" someone exclaimed. I was too nervous to pay attention to who was talking at this point. My thoughts were spinning, but one thing was constant: I needed to run. Somehow, I needed to escape.
"Sensei! What about the intruder alarm sensors...!?" Yaoyorozu asked, as calm and collected as ever, while I stood there trembling like a leaf. That was when I realized the difference between some of my classmates and me. While I was on the verge of bolting, others were already thinking of solutions.
Thirteen quickly responded: "Of course we have some set up, but...!"
Todoroki also joined in, speaking calmly, without a hint of fear in his voice.
"Is this the only campus they've infiltrated, or are they attacking all the others too...? At any rate, if the sensors aren't responding..."
He looked toward the group of villains, as if he were trying to solve a puzzle. "Then that just means they must have one amongst their number who has a quirk that can do that."
"An isolated space away from the university building... At a time when there's a class scheduled... It may seem out of the question, but... they must have some solid objective. This isn't an ambush without some carefully planned scheme behind it," Todoroki added, impressively serious. I couldn't understand how he wasn't frozen in fear. He was talking as if we were in a normal class!
First Kirishima's yelling like we're in some kind of action movie, and now Todoroki's over there solving this like it's a Sudoku puzzle. Meanwhile, I'm just trying not to scream loud enough for the villains to hear me.
"No. 13, do the evacuation procedure! And try calling Yueei! These villains know how to get around the sensors! There's a chance there's an electrowave-type guy who'll try interfering!" Aizawa ordered.
"Kaminari, you too! Try contacting Yueei with your Quirk!" Aizawa suddenly addressed me directly.
"A-ah!" I responded, startled. I knew the chances of me actually contacting anyone with these guys interfering were close to zero, but I tried anyway. The moment I activated my Quirk, I felt something blocking it. Yep, nothing. Not a signal. Still, I kept trying, over and over, even though I knew it wouldn't work. This was bad…really bad… and it was only making me more nervous.
"Sensei!? Are you gonna fight them alone!?" Midoriya asked, looking at Aizawa-sensei. His concern for the teacher was obvious, although honestly, I was more worried about us. Aizawa's a pro, someone who actually has a shot at handling this. Us… well, we're students with next to no experience, facing dozens of villains.
"Even if you suppress all of their Quirks, there's so many of them!!" Midoriya continued. "The battle style of 'Eraserhead' is to capture villains after erasing their Quirks. Meaning, the main battle starts now..."
Great, thanks for pointing that out, Midoriya! Any shred of hope I had of making it out of here alive just vanished completely.
But Aizawa-sensei turned to us, giving us a serious look.
"A hero always has more than one trick up their sleeves!" he told us. And in that moment, he looked super cool—though honestly, it didn't help much to calm my nerves. Still, if we made it out of this alive, I was definitely stealing that line and pose. It was perfect for impressing damsels in distress. But first, I needed to survive!
"No. 13, I'm counting on you!" Aizawa added, before leaping forward, straight into the group of villains.
I watched him jump into action, taking down several villains with ease and precision I'd only seen in action movies.
Yeah… watching Aizawa-sensei leap into action was like seeing a live action movie. Except this wasn't a movie, and we were definitely the helpless extras about to get wrecked.
Soy yes… It was incredible… but while I wanted to admire him, my brain was screaming at me to run.
Aizawa-sensei, thank you for your sacrifice! I promise to remember it for the rest of time if I manage to survive this! I thought, almost as if I were paying tribute to him. Though, of course, I hoped we could all get out of this without anyone having to sacrifice themselves.
There wasn't time to breathe, though. Just as I thought we were safe, the black mist villain managed to get closer to us, bypassing Aizawa-sensei with his Quirk. So, yep, we were in danger again.
"Greetings. We are the villain alliance. I apologize for the presumption, but we took it upon ourselves to enter Yueei, the base of heroes," the mist villain said, his voice surprisingly polite. Right, like manners matter when you're about to kill a bunch of students. "In order to engage with All Might, the 'Symbol of Peace.'"
"We were wondering if we might be allowed the opportunity to extinguish him, you see," the villain continued, and while he kept trying to sound polite, I felt terror creeping into me. At least now I finally understood a bit of what was going on. Apparently, their goal was All Might—not us, which was a relief... Oh, wait. All Might wasn't here, so now we were the targets. Fantastic. Just fantastic… Yup, we're gonna die.
"Was All Might not meant to be in attendance at this juncture? Perchance, has something been altered? Ah well... Setting that aside... This is my role."
No. 13 was ready to step in, and for a moment, I thought she might actually protect us. But before she could do anything, Bakugo and Kirishima decided to charge at the villain. What the hell were those two thinking!? This wasn't training! Let No. 13 do her job and get out of here! This was insane.
"Bet you don't think we'd be able to do you in before you got the chance!" Kirishima shouted.
Too bad their attack didn't seem to have any real effect on the villain.
"That was quite dangerous. To be expected. Though you may be mere students, you are also the hero world's 'golden eggs,'" the villain said, reappearing completely unscathed.
"It's no use, just run! Run, you two!" No. 13 shouted, clearly worried for Kirishima and Bakugo.
To make things worse, something seemed to be preventing No. 13 from using her Quirk. Maybe she was afraid of hurting those two who were in front of her, blocking her line of sight to the villain… I don't know, but we were screwed!
Then, without warning, the villain teleported closer to us and opened portals beneath our feet.
The next thing I knew, I was falling…