Chapter 09: USJ

Aizawa stood at the front of the classroom with his usual dead-eyed stare, scarf loose around his neck, hands shoved deep into the pockets of his capture-weapon belt. The room was still buzzing from morning chatter, chairs scraping, someone laughing too loud, Kaminari doing something dumb in the back. Aizawa let it go on for exactly five seconds longer than necessary.

Then he spoke.

“Quiet.”

It wasn’t loud. It wasn’t dramatic. But it cut through the noise like a blade. Conversations died mid-word. Chairs stopped moving. Everyone snapped straight without even realizing they were doing it.

Aizawa sighed, already tired. “Today’s schedule has changed.”

That got their attention immediately.

Iida straightened, hand already halfway up. “Sensei, may I ask, ”

“No,” Aizawa said flatly. “Sit down.”

Iida froze, mortified, and sat so fast his chair squeaked.

Aizawa clicked a remote. The board behind him lit up, displaying a wide image of a massive indoor facility filled with artificial disaster zones. Floods. Fires. Collapsed buildings. Landslides. A big bold title sat at the top.

USJ ,  Unforeseen Simulation Joint.

A few students murmured.

Uraraka leaned forward, eyes sparkling. “Whoa…”

Kirishima grinned. “That place is huge.”

Bakugou scoffed from his seat. “Tch. Looks like a playground.”

Izuku sat quietly, shoulders relaxed but eyes attentive. She tilted her head slightly, taking in the image. Disaster zones. Rescue. Her fingers twitched faintly on her notebook, but she didn’t doodle this time. She watched.

Aizawa continued, “You’ll be going to the USJ.”

That did it.

The class erupted.

“For real?!” “Isn’t that for upper years?” “We’re doing rescue already?” “Does that mean real heroes will be there?”

Aizawa raised an eyebrow. “You’re in the hero course. If that surprises you, you’re already behind.”

He clicked again. A new image appeared. A woman floating gently in a black-and-white astronaut-like suit, visor gleaming.

Hero Thirteen.

Search and Rescue Specialist.

“Today’s lesson is a practical,” Aizawa said. “Rescue operations.”

Mina leaned over her desk. “Ooooh, Thirteen’s cool! She’s like, super famous for zero-casualty saves.”

Jiro nodded. “Yeah. Black Hole quirk, right?”

“Correct,” Aizawa said. “Hero Thirteen specializes in rescue, containment, and disaster response. This lesson is not about fighting villains.”

Bakugou clicked his tongue loudly. “What a waste.”

Aizawa’s eyes slid toward him. “If you think rescue work is a waste, you’re an idiot.”

The room went dead silent.

Bakugou bristled. “The hell did you say, ”

“I said,” Aizawa repeated calmly, “that if you believe hero work is only about beating villains, you will get people killed.”

That shut Bakugou up. Not because he agreed, but because Aizawa’s tone left no room for argument.

Aizawa turned back to the board. “Heroes spend more time saving people than fighting. Collapsed buildings. Floods. Fires. Panic. Civilians who can’t move. Can’t breathe. Can’t think.”

His gaze swept the room, lingering briefly on Izuku.

“Power without control is a liability. Today is about judgment. Awareness. Teamwork. And knowing when not to use your quirk.”

Izuku’s fingers tightened slightly around her pen. She nodded once, to herself.

Aizawa continued, “Hero Thirteen will be instructing you. I will be supervising.”

Someone groaned. “So no slacking…”

“You never had that option,” Aizawa said.

He glanced at the clock. “We leave shortly. Change into your training uniforms. Bus departs in fifteen minutes.”

Chairs scraped again as students stood, buzzing with excitement.

Uraraka turned to Izuku with a bright smile. “Rescue training! That’s kinda scary, but also really cool, right?”

Izuku blinked, then lifted her phone.

She typed quickly.

Riceball icons popped up on the screen.

OMGOMGOMG

Uraraka tilted her head. “That means… excited but nervous?”

Izuku nodded once, relieved.

Jiro watched quietly from the side, arms crossed. She didn’t say anything, but there was a thoughtful look in her eyes as she glanced between Izuku and the board.

Bakugou stood abruptly, chair screeching. He didn’t look at Izuku, but his fists were clenched. Rescue training. No explosions. No blasting. He hated it.

Iida adjusted his glasses, already in full serious mode. “A practical lesson under a professional rescue hero… We must conduct ourselves with utmost discipline!”

Aizawa zipped himself halfway into his sleeping bag, already checking out. “If any of you embarrass U.A., I’ll erase your quirks and your future.”

That earned a collective gulp.

As the class filed out, Izuku lingered for a second, looking once more at the image of the USJ. Artificial disasters. Simulated chaos. A place where voices screamed.

Her hand instinctively brushed the high collar at her throat.

She could help there.

Without speaking.

She followed the others quietly, footsteps light, heart steady, unaware that the place they were heading toward was already waiting for them in a very different way.

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The girls’ locker room was loud in that way only locker rooms ever were. Metal doors clanged. Shoes thudded on the floor. Someone complained about the smell like it was a personal attack. Another girl laughed way too hard about absolutely nothing.

Ochako was already halfway out of her uniform, hopping on one foot while tugging on her training pants. “I still can’t believe we’re actually meeting Thirteen,” she said, practically glowing. “Like, a real rescue hero. Not just videos. Not just interviews. In person.”

Mina grinned while pulling her shirt over her head. “You’re totally fangirling.”

“Of course I am,” Ochako shot back, not even embarrassed. “Her quirk is amazing. Zero Gravity is kinda similar, you know? Not the same, but like… space stuff. Weight. Physics doing backflips.”

Tsuyu nodded calmly from her bench. “She’s very efficient. Ribbit. Her success rate is impressive.”

Izuku stood a little farther back, near the lockers closest to the wall. She waited. Always waited. Let the noise thin out. Let people finish changing. Her fingers hooked into the zipper of her high-collared dress, pulling it down just enough to slip out of it carefully, precisely. No rush. No accidents.

She folded her uniform neatly. Very neat. Like if the creases mattered.

Tooru’s voice floated over as she struggled with her glove. “Hey, Midoriya-chan?”

Izuku froze for half a second, then turned.

Tooru tilted her head, invisible face somehow expressive anyway. “Your quirk is kinda like… telekinesis, right? But with your voice? So like, you don’t touch stuff but it moves?”

Izuku shook her head immediately. Small. Firm. No.

“Oh.” Tooru blinked. “Then is it like sound waves? Or… commands?”

Izuku hesitated. Then slowly reached for her phone.

Before she could type, Ochako wandered over, curiosity lighting her eyes. “Wait, wait, I’ve been wondering too. Your quirk activates when you talk, right?”

Izuku paused. Her shoulders tensed.

More girls started drifting closer. Not aggressively. Just curious. Jiro leaned against a locker with her arms crossed. Mina crouched nearby, chin on her hands. Tsuyu watched quietly.

Too many eyes.

Izuku swallowed, then typed carefully.

I can’t explain it safely.

Ochako read it out loud, then frowned gently. “Oh. Like… it’s dangerous?”

Izuku nodded once.

Jiro raised an eyebrow. “Dangerous how?”

Izuku lifted her phone again.

Hurts people if I speak normally.

That did it.

The room went quiet. Not dead silent, but that softer kind where people suddenly became aware of their breathing.

Mina’s smile faded just a little. “Oh. That’s… wow.”

Tooru clasped her hands together. “That sounds really hard.”

Ochako’s face softened completely. “Is that why you use those food words?”

Izuku nodded again.

“So your quirk doesn’t activate with those?” Ochako asked.

Izuku typed.

They’re safe.

Tsuyu hummed thoughtfully. “That’s good. Ribbit.”

Jiro studied Izuku for a long moment, then shrugged. “That explains a lot.”

Izuku wasn’t sure if that was good or bad.

Ochako smiled at her. Not awkward. Not forced. Just… normal. “Hey, if you ever need help explaining stuff, you can just text, okay? You don’t have to push yourself.”

Izuku felt something loosen in her chest. She typed one word.

Thanks.

Ochako beamed. “You're welcome.”

Mina clapped her hands suddenly. “Okay but still. Thirteen. Space hero. Rescue drills. This day is wild.”

The moment stretched, almost comfortable.

Then,  BANG.

The locker room door shook violently.

Aizawa’s voice came through the metal, flat and unimpressed. “If you do not come out in thirty seconds, I am locking this room.”

Panic.

“WHAT, ” “I’m not dressed!” “Wait wait WAIT, ”

Izuku flinched hard, shoulders jerking.

Ochako grabbed her sleeve. “Come on, come on!”

Girls scrambled. Shoes half-on. Zippers flying. Someone almost tripped. Tooru yelled that she lost something again.

Izuku pulled on her training uniform quickly, hands steady despite the chaos. High collar zipped back into place. Phone tucked away.

As they rushed toward the door, Izuku glanced back once.

For just a second.

The mirror reflected a girl standing straighter than she used to. Still quiet. Still careful.

But not alone.

The door burst open just as Aizawa’s scarf peeked through.

“Twenty-nine,” he said flatly.

They spilled out into the hall, breathless, laughing, heart racing.

Izuku walked with them.

Silent.

Ready.

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The bus ride from the main building to USJ felt way longer than it actually was.

Not because of the distance. The campus was huge, sure. Trees everywhere. Training fields flashing by. Big buildings that screamed money and hero dreams. Izuku sat by the window, forehead resting lightly against the glass, eyes following the blur of green and gray outside.

But inside the bus?

Chaos.

Pure chaos.

“Okay okay okay,” Mina said, standing up in the aisle like she owned the place. “Road trip rules. We have to sing.”

“Yes!” Kaminari pumped his fist. “Sing! Sing! Sing!”

“No singing,” Bakugou snapped instantly. “Shut up. All of you.”

Aizawa, sitting near the front with his arms crossed and scarf loose around his neck, let out the deepest, most tired sigh known to mankind. The kind of sigh that said he regretted waking up today.

“I agree with Bakugou,” he muttered. “Please don’t.”

Too late.

Ochako clapped her hands. “What should we sing?”

“Something upbeat!” Mina said.

“Something heroic!” Iida added, already adjusting his glasses. “If we are to sing, it should be in proper harmony and with equal participation from all, ”

“No,” Bakugou growled.

Todoroki sat silently, staring straight ahead, completely detached from reality. Singing? Bus? Classmates? None of it existed to him.

Someone started humming. Off-key.

Kaminari jumped in loudly. “We’re going on a hero trip, ”

“That’s not a song,” Jiro said.

“It is now.”

Mina grabbed the seat to balance herself. “Okay okay, repeat after me!”

Bakugou’s eye twitched.

Aizawa pulled his scarf up slightly, like he was considering wrapping it around his head and vanishing forever.

Izuku didn’t turn around. She didn’t smile. She didn’t flinch.

She just kept looking outside.

The campus rolled by like a moving picture book. Training grounds. Tall fences. The distant dome of USJ barely visible ahead. Her reflection stared back at her in the glass. High collar. Quiet eyes. Hands folded neatly in her lap.

The singing got louder.

And worse.

Iida stood up. “If you are going to sing, at least follow a rhythm! You’re all completely off beat!”

“Dude relax,” Kaminari laughed. “Feel the vibe.”

“There is no vibe,” Bakugou snapped. “There’s just noise.”

Aizawa pinched the bridge of his nose. “I’m deducting points for this. I don’t know how yet. But I will.”

Izuku’s phone buzzed softly in her pocket from the movement of the bus. She ignored it.

She liked this moment. The noise didn’t ask anything of her. No one expected words. No one expected answers.

Just motion. Just going forward.

The bus slowed.

USJ rose into view. Massive. Circular. Like a fake world waiting to swallow them whole.

The bus came to a stop with a hiss.

Before the doors even fully opened, 

“WE’RE HERE!” Mina yelled.

Students stood up immediately.

“Wait!” Iida shouted. “Please exit in an orderly fashion, ”

Too late.

People spilled out. Laughing. Talking. Pushing past each other. Someone nearly tripped on the steps.

Izuku waited until the rush passed. Then stood. Calm. Careful. Stepping down last.

Aizawa got off after them, hands in his pockets, looking deeply unimpressed. “You’re all already failing the ‘behave’ part.”

Everyone froze when he spoke again.

“Oh, and be ready,” he added casually. “All Might is here today.”

Silence.

Then, 

“WHAT?!” “ALL MIGHT?!” “SERIOUSLY?!” “EVEN AT USJ?!”

The bus exploded with excitement that somehow carried outside.

Izuku’s eyes widened just a little.

Aizawa sighed again. “He’s supposed to be teaching another course, but apparently even USJ wasn’t enough to escape him.”

Mina grinned. “Hehehe. Best day ever.”

Aizawa turned toward the entrance. “Anyway. Let’s get inside. And behave.”

Izuku followed with the group.

She had a feeling that something unexpected might happen…

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