Three months. That's how long I've been at UA now. Three months of tests, training, and trying not to accidentally reveal that my "quirk" is actually some interdimensional fruit power.
"USJ!" Present Mic announces as our bus pulls up to what looks like a massive dome. "WHERE HEROES LEARN TO SAVE THE DAY!"
I press my face against the window. The building is huge. Like, stupidly huge. "Jesus Christ, how much money does this school have?"
"Language," Nejire chides, but she's grinning. She's been bouncing in her seat for the entire twenty-minute ride, practically vibrating with excitement.
"Sorry, Jesus H. Christ, how much money does this school have?"
She snorts. "Much better."
Across the aisle, Tamaki looks like he's about to throw up. Which, considering we're about to do disaster rescue training, is probably not the vibe we're going for.
"You good?" I ask him.
"I ate too much kelp," he mumbles. "Thought it would help with water rescues."
"And?"
"Now I feel slimy."
Fair enough.
The bus doors hiss open and we file out, all nine of us plus Aizawa, who looks like he'd rather be literally anywhere else. Dude's perpetually exhausted, but today he seems extra dead inside.
"Stay together," he drones. "Don't touch anything. Don't activate your quirks without permission. Don't die."
"That last one seems important," I mutter.
"It is," Aizawa says flatly. "Medical bills are expensive."
We approach the entrance where another pro hero is waiting for us. I recognize him immediately—Thirteen, the rescue specialist. His bulky white suit makes him look like an astronaut, which I guess is fitting since his quirk is basically a portable black hole.
"Welcome to the USJ!" Thirteen greets us cheerfully. "I'm Thirteen, and I'll be your instructor for today's disaster rescue training!"
Nejire immediately raises her hand. "Is it true your quirk can suck up anything? What's the range? Can you control the intensity? Does it work on gases? What about—"
"All excellent questions!" Thirteen interrupts before she can spiral into full interrogation mode. "But let's save them for after the tour, shall we?"
We follow him through the entrance, and I swear my jaw actually drops.
The USJ is insane. We're standing on a central platform overlooking different disaster zones spread out like some twisted theme park. There's a flood zone with a sinking ship, a landslide zone with crumbling buildings, a fire zone that's literally on fire, and about six other scenarios that look designed to give you nightmares.
"Holy shit," Kishimoto breathes.
"Language," Nejire says automatically, then immediately adds, "but yeah, holy shit."
"The Unforeseen Simulation Joint," Thirteen explains, "is designed to prepare you for the kinds of disasters heroes face in the real world. Natural disasters, villain attacks, industrial accidents—you name it, we can simulate it."
He gestures to the different zones. "Today, you'll be working in teams to complete rescue scenarios. The goal isn't to show off your quirks—it's to save lives efficiently and safely."
Aizawa steps forward, looking somehow even more tired. "You'll be split into teams of three. Each team gets assigned to a zone. Your job is to rescue the civilian mannequins and evacuate them to safety. You have one hour."
"What happens if we fail?" Tanaka asks.
"You get to explain to the 'victims' families why their loved ones didn't make it home," Aizawa replies without missing a beat.
Jesus. This guy could depress a motivational speaker.
"Teams," Thirteen announces, consulting his tablet. "Team One: Torino, Hado, Amajiki. You'll be taking the shipwreck zone."
I glance at Nejire and Tamaki. Not bad. Nejire's quirk is perfect for clearing debris and water rescue, Tamaki's super versatile, and I can... electrocute things. Hopefully not the water we'll be working in.
Wait. Fuck. Water and electricity don't mix.
Double fuck.
"Team Two: Tanaka, Kishimoto, Yoshida. Mountain zone. Team Three: Sato, Nakamura, Watanabe. Fire zone."
As the other teams head to their assigned areas, I have a minor crisis. "Uh, guys? Quick question about the whole shipwreck thing."
"What's up?" Nejire asks, already bouncing toward the flood zone.
"Water. Electricity. Generally don't play nice together."
She stops bouncing. "Oh. Right. Physics."
"I could... stay on the ship?" I suggest. "Do the above-water rescues while you two handle the swimming?"
"No way," Nejire shakes her head. "We're a team. We figure this out together."
Tamaki, surprisingly, speaks up. "Your gauntlets. They're insulated, right? From your grandfather?"
I nod. "Yeah, but full-body contact with water is still risky."
"Then we adapt," Nejire says firmly. "Tamaki, what did you eat today?"
"Kelp, sea cucumber, some tuna..." He looks thoughtful. "Oh, and squid."
"Perfect. You handle underwater rescues. I'll clear debris and provide air pockets. Shinra, you work from the ship and coordinate. Use your sensing abilities to find victims we might miss."
Huh. That's... actually a solid plan.
"Look at you being all tactical," I tease.
She grins. "I have my moments."
We approach the flood zone, where a massive cargo ship is half-submerged in choppy artificial water. Rescue mannequins are scattered throughout—some floating, some trapped under debris, others presumably underwater.
"Okay," I say, stepping onto the tilted deck. "Let me see what I can sense."
I close my eyes and extend my electrical awareness. It's a technique I've been working on—using the bioelectricity in living things to detect people. The mannequins don't have bioelectricity, obviously, but they're made with conductive materials for training purposes.
"Got signals," I call out. "Three on the upper decks, two in the water near the bow, and..." I concentrate harder. "Four more underwater, port side."
"On it," Tamaki says, and I watch in fascination as he transforms. His arms become octopus tentacles, his skin takes on a slimy texture, and he develops what look like gills on his neck. Then he just... slides into the water like he belongs there.
Meanwhile, Nejire takes to the air, her energy waves forming spirals beneath her feet for propulsion. She starts clearing floating debris, creating safe paths through the water.
"Victim number one," I announce, making my way carefully across the slanted deck to where a mannequin is pinned under a fallen mast. "Gonna need some help here!"
"Coming!" Nejire swoops down, her waves precisely cutting through the metal pinning the dummy. "Clear!"
I grab the mannequin and start hauling it toward the evacuation point. It's heavier than expected, and the deck is slick with fake seawater.
"This is way harder than it looks in movies," I grunt.
"Most things are!" Nejire calls back, already moving to the next victim.
The next twenty minutes are a blur of coordinated chaos. Tamaki surfaces regularly with rescued mannequins, his squid-like locomotion making him stupidly efficient underwater. Nejire clears debris and provides emergency air pockets for "drowning" victims. I coordinate from the ship, using my sensing abilities to guide them to victims they might have missed.
"Last one," I announce, pointing to a section of the ship that's almost completely submerged. "But the signal's weak. Might be trapped pretty deep."
Tamaki surfaces, breathing hard. "I can get there, but I'll need time."
"Take your time," Nejire says. "We've got seventeen minutes left."
As Tamaki disappears beneath the surface again, I lean against the ship's railing, watching Nejire hover above the water. Her control has gotten insane over the past few weeks. The precision she's showing with her waves, the way she can maintain flight while manipulating debris—it's honestly kind of intimidating.
"Show off," I call up to her.
"Jealous?" she calls back.
"Maybe a little."
She grins and does a completely unnecessary barrel roll in midair. Because of course she does.
"Got him!" Tamaki surfaces with the final mannequin, and we quickly get it to the evacuation zone.
"Time!" Thirteen calls out.
We all collapse on the platform, soaked and exhausted. Well, Tamaki and I are soaked. Nejire somehow managed to stay mostly dry by flying everywhere.
"How'd we do?" I ask.
Thirteen checks his tablet. "All victims rescued, no serious safety violations, good team coordination. Well done, Team One."
"Yes!" Nejire pumps her fist in the air. "We didn't kill anyone!"
"The bar for success is surprisingly low," I observe.
"But we cleared it!" she insists.
Fair point.
We watch the other teams finish up. Team Two struggles with the mountain zone—turns out avalanche rescue is harder than it looks. Team Three does pretty well with the fire zone, though Sato definitely singed her eyebrows.
"Gather round," Aizawa calls once everyone's finished. "Debrief time."
We huddle together on the central platform, still dripping and tired but oddly energized. There's something about successfully completing a rescue scenario that gets your adrenaline going, even when you know it's just training.
"First," Aizawa says, "the good news. No one died, no one got seriously injured, and most of you managed to save at least some civilians."
"Most of us?" Kishimoto asks nervously.
"Team Two left three mannequins buried in the landslide," Thirteen explains gently. "In a real scenario, that would be three families getting devastating news."
The mood immediately sobers. Right. Consequences.
"However," Thirteen continues, "this was your first disaster rescue training. Mistakes are expected. What matters is learning from them."
He pulls up footage on a portable screen. "Let's review. Team One—excellent coordination and role assignment. Torino, good use of your sensory abilities. Hado, creative problem-solving with debris clearance. Amajiki, impressive adaptation underwater."
We grin at each other. Praise from pro heroes hits different.
"Areas for improvement," Thirteen continues, "Torino, work on mobility in challenging terrain. Hado, consider power conservation—you were breathing hard by the end. Amajiki, communication. Your teammates need status updates."
Tamaki nods seriously, probably already planning how to improve.
"Team Two," Thirteen moves on, and I kind of tune out as he reviews the other teams' performances. Not because I don't care, but because my brain is processing everything we just did.
The coordination. The way we automatically fell into roles that played to our strengths. How naturally we worked together.
It's... nice. Really nice. Having people I can count on.
"Any questions?" Thirteen asks.
Nejire raises her hand. "When do we get to do this again?"
Thirteen chuckles. "Eager, are we? Don't worry, rescue training is a major component of the hero course. You'll be spending a lot of time here."
"Sweet," she grins.
As we board the bus back to campus, I find myself sitting next to Tamaki. He's still slightly damp and smells faintly of seaweed, but he looks more relaxed than usual.
"Good work today," I tell him.
"Thanks," he mumbles. "Your coordination helped. Usually I just... panic and transform randomly."
"Planning helps," I agree. "But your underwater work was legit impressive. Those tentacles are no joke."
He actually smiles a little. "Mirio says I worry too much about what other people think of my quirk."
"Mirio's smart. Your quirk is insane—in the best way. Today proved that."
"Thanks," he says again, but this time he means it.
Across the aisle, Nejire is chattering excitedly with some of the other students about the training, her enthusiasm infectious as always. She catches me watching and makes a silly face.
I make one back, because apparently I'm twelve years old.
"You like her," Tamaki observes quietly.
I nearly choke. "What?"
"Nejire. You like her. It's... obvious."
Fuck.
"Is it that obvious?" I ask.
"Only to anyone with eyes," he says dryly. Which, coming from Tamaki, is practically a comedy roast.
"Great," I sigh. "Any advice from the relationship expert?"
"I know nothing about relationships," Tamaki admits. "But... she looks at you the same way."
I stare at him. "Seriously?"
He nods, then immediately looks away like he's shared state secrets.
Huh.
The bus ride back to campus passes in a blur of tired chatter and post-training analysis. By the time we reach UA, I'm exhausted but oddly content. Today was good. Really good.
As we file off the bus, Nejire falls into step beside me.
"That was amazing!" she says for probably the tenth time. "I can't wait for the next one!"
"Same," I agree. "Though maybe next time we get a zone where I can actually use my quirk without electrocuting everyone."
"Hey, you did great today. The coordination thing was clutch."
"Team effort," I say. "You and Tamaki did the heavy lifting."
"Literally, in Tamaki's case," she laughs. "Did you see him carrying three mannequins at once? Those tentacles are crazy strong."
We walk into the main building together, tired but happy. Another day at UA, another step toward becoming heroes.