Kai's POV
The bus ride to USJ was loud.
Twenty students crammed into a vehicle, excitement buzzing through the air. Everyone was talking about rescue training, speculating about what we'd face.
"I heard they have a flood zone," Kaminari said. "Like, an actual lake inside the building."
"And a landslide zone," Kirishima added. "Mountains and everything."
I sat near the back, watching the conversations unfold. Momo had taken the seat beside me without asking. After Saturday's study session, things between us were different. Charged.
"Nervous?" she asked quietly.
"No. You?"
"A little." She smoothed her skirt. "Rescue training is different from combat. More variables, more things that can go wrong."
"You'll do fine."
"You sound confident."
"I've seen you work. You adapt quickly."
She smiled slightly. "Flattery won't improve your math grades."
"Worth a shot."
Across the aisle, Ochako chatted with Tsu. She caught my eye and waved, her cheeks pinking slightly. I nodded back.
"She likes you," Momo observed.
"We're friends."
"Friends don't blush like that."
I didn't respond. Momo was too perceptive for her own good.
"I'm not jealous," she added. "Just observant."
"Good to know."
She gave me a look that suggested she wasn't entirely convinced. But she let it drop.
USJ was massive.
The building rose from the landscape like a dome, its curved walls gleaming in the morning light. Inside, I could see the tops of different zones. Mountains, buildings, what looked like a ship.
Thirteen met us at the entrance. The space hero's suit was bulky and round, voice muffled through the helmet.
"Welcome to the Unforeseen Simulation Joint. I designed this facility to train heroes in rescue operations across various disaster scenarios."
They gestured at the zones visible below.
"Flood zone. Landslide zone. Conflagration zone. Windstorm zone. And the central plaza, where we'll begin."
We filed inside. The scale was even more impressive from ground level. Each zone was its own self-contained environment, separated by walkways and barriers.
"Today you'll rotate through different scenarios in small groups," Thirteen explained. "The goal is exposure. Learning to adapt to unfamiliar situations."
Aizawa nodded. "We'll divide into teams of four. Each team will spend thirty minutes in a zone before rotating."
Made sense. Small groups meant more hands-on experience.
Then the lights flickered.
At first I thought it was part of the simulation.
A purple mist gathered in the central plaza. Swirling, expanding, taking shape.
Then figures started stepping through.
Villains. Dozens of them. Maybe more.
"Stay back!" Aizawa shouted. His capture scarf unwound, eyes glowing red as he activated his quirk.
"Is this part of the test?" Kirishima asked.
"No." Aizawa's voice was cold. "This is real. Thirteen, protect the students."
The mist solidified into a figure. A man made of shadow, yellow eyes gleaming.
"Eraserhead and Thirteen," he said. "According to our information, All Might should be here as well."
"He's not." Aizawa crouched, ready to attack. "You wasted your time."
"Disappointing. But we'll make do."
More villains poured through the mist. They spread across the facility, heading for different zones.
And at the center of it all stood a creature. Massive, brain exposed, eyes empty. It radiated wrongness.
"Everyone get to the exit!" Thirteen ordered. "We need to call for backup!"
We started moving. Then the mist appeared around us.
"I'm afraid I can't allow that," the shadow man said. "You're all going to die here today."
The world dissolved into purple.
When my vision cleared, I was falling.
Water rushed up to meet me. I hit the surface hard, plunging deep before kicking toward the light.
I broke the surface gasping. Looked around. The flood zone. A massive pool with a boat in the center and artificial waves lapping at fake shorelines.
I wasn't alone.
Momo surfaced nearby, coughing water. A few feet away, Ochako was treading water frantically.
"Kai!" Ochako spotted me. "Are you okay?"
"Fine. You?"
"I can't swim well!"
I reached her in three strokes and grabbed her arm. "I've got you. Stay calm."
Momo swam over to join us. "We need to get to the boat. Higher ground."
Smart. The boat was large enough to stand on and close enough to reach.
"Can you make something to help Ochako float?" I asked.
Momo nodded. Her arm glowed and a life preserver materialized. She handed it to Ochako, who grabbed it gratefully.
"Thank you!"
"Save the thanks. We need to move."
We weren't the only ones in the water.
Villains surfaced around us. Five, six, more appearing. Their quirks varied. One had webbed hands. Another had shark-like teeth. Water-based villains, sent to this zone on purpose.
"Well, well." The shark-toothed one grinned. "Fresh meat."
"Get to the boat," I told Momo and Ochako. "I'll handle them."
"Kai, there's too many..." Momo started.
"Go. Now."
They went. Ochako paddled awkwardly with the life preserver. Momo swam alongside her, glancing back.
The villains circled.
"Brave kid. Stupid, but brave." Shark teeth laughed. "You think you can take all of us?"
"Only one way to find out."
I dove under the water.
Fighting underwater was different.
Movements were slower, resistance higher. But the principles remained the same. Strike fast, strike hard, don't let them gang up.
The first villain came at me with webbed hands extended. I grabbed his wrist, twisted, and drove my knee into his stomach. Air bubbles exploded from his mouth.
The second tried to bite me. I caught his jaw and forced it shut, then slammed my elbow into his temple.
The third and fourth attacked together. I kicked off one to dodge the other, then caught them both with a double strike as I spun.
My lungs burned. I surfaced for air.
Three villains floated unconscious. The others hesitated.
"What the hell..." Shark teeth stared. "He's just a kid!"
"A kid who's going to put you all down."
I dove again.
By the time I reached the boat, seven villains were floating in the water.
Momo helped me climb aboard. Her eyes were wide.
"How did you do that?"
"Training."
"That wasn't normal training." She shook her head. "You moved like a pro hero."
"Later. Are you both okay?"
"We're fine." Ochako was still clutching the life preserver, shivering. "That was scary. They just appeared around us."
"The mist villain. He teleported us." I scanned the facility. From the boat, I could see other zones. Smoke rising from the fire area. Figures moving in the landslide zone. "We need to regroup with the others."
"How? We're stuck in the middle of a lake."
Momo was already creating something. A small motor materialized in her hands.
"I can make a propulsion system. It won't be fast, but it'll get us to shore."
"Do it."
The trip to shore took five minutes.
Five minutes of watching chaos unfold across the facility. I could see Aizawa fighting in the central plaza, his scarf whipping as he took down villain after villain. He was holding his own, but there were so many.
And the creature. The Nomu, I heard someone call it. It stood motionless, waiting.
We reached the shore and climbed out. The artificial beach felt wrong underfoot.
"We need to find the others," Ochako said. "Everyone got scattered."
"The exit is past the central plaza." Momo pointed. "But getting there means passing through the fighting."
"Then we go around. Stick to the edges."
We started moving. Keeping low, using cover. The sounds of combat echoed through the dome.
We found Jiro and Kaminari near the landslide zone.
They were backed against a rock formation, surrounded by four villains. Kaminari was sparking uselessly, his electricity grounding into the stone. Jiro had her earphone jacks extended, but she was clearly outmatched.
"Stay behind me," I told Momo and Ochako.
"Kai, wait..."
I was already moving.
The first villain didn't see me coming. I hit him in the back of the head and he crumpled.
The second turned just in time to catch my fist with his face.
The third tried to use some kind of slime quirk. I ducked under it, closed the distance, and drove my knee into his gut.
The fourth ran.
"Hayashi?" Jiro stared at me. "Where the hell did you come from?"
"Flood zone. You okay?"
"We're fine. Just outnumbered." She pulled her jacks back. "How are you doing that? Taking them down so easily?"
"They're low-level thugs. No real training." I helped Kaminari to his feet. "Can you still fight?"
"I think so. Just need a minute."
"You have thirty seconds. We need to move."
Our group grew as we moved through the facility.
We found Kirishima and Bakugo near the fire zone, surrounded by unconscious villains. Bakugo looked pissed, which seemed to be his default state.
"About time someone showed up," he snarled. "These extras were boring."
"We're heading for the exit," I said. "Come with us or don't."
"Tch. Like I need your help."
But he followed.
Todoroki joined us near the windstorm zone. He'd frozen an entire section, villains trapped in ice up to their necks.
"Efficient," I noted.
"They were weak." He fell into step beside me. "The real threat is at the center."
He was right. I could see Aizawa still fighting, but he was slowing down. Too many enemies, too little backup.
And the Nomu had started moving.
We reached the edge of the central plaza just as everything went wrong.
Aizawa was on the ground. The Nomu had him pinned, one massive hand crushing his arm. Even from here, I could hear the bone snap.
"Sensei!" Midoriya screamed from somewhere nearby.
The mist villain stood with another figure. Pale, covered in hands, scratching at his neck compulsively.
"Disappointing," the hand-covered man said. "No All Might. Just these weaklings."
"Should we kill them anyway, Shigaraki?" the mist asked.
"Might as well. Start with the kids."
The Nomu dropped Aizawa and turned toward us.
Every instinct screamed at me to run. The thing was wrong on a fundamental level. Engineered for destruction.
But running meant leaving Aizawa. Leaving my classmates.
"Get everyone out," I told Todoroki. "I'll buy time."
"That thing will kill you."
"Maybe. Get them out anyway."
I stepped into the plaza.
The Nomu was fast.
Faster than something that size had any right to be. It crossed the distance in an instant, fist already swinging.
I dodged. Barely. The wind from the punch nearly knocked me over.
"Oh?" Shigaraki tilted his head. "This one's quick."
I struck back. My fist connected with the Nomu's torso.
Nothing. Like hitting concrete.
It backhanded me. I flew across the plaza, hit the ground rolling, came up just in time to dodge another strike.
"Shock absorption," Shigaraki explained, sounding bored. "Physical attacks won't work. But please, keep trying. It's entertaining."
The Nomu pressed forward. I dodged and weaved, looking for openings that didn't exist. Every hit I landed did nothing. Every hit it landed nearly ended me.
I was going to lose.
Then the doors exploded.
"I AM HERE!"
All Might stood in the entrance, cape billowing, smile fixed in place. But something was different. His eyes were cold.
"Have no fear, students." His voice echoed through the facility. "Because I am here."
He moved.
One second he was at the door. The next he was between me and the Nomu, fist already connecting.
The Nomu flew backward. Actually flew, launched by the force of All Might's punch.
"Young Hayashi. Get your classmates to safety."
"The Nomu has shock absorption..."
"I know." His smile didn't waver. "I'll simply hit it until it can't absorb anymore."
He launched himself at the creature.
The fight that followed was beyond anything I'd seen.
All Might versus the Nomu. Blow after blow after blow. The ground cracked. The air shook. Each impact sounded like thunder.
I got the others moving. Helped carry Aizawa toward the exit where Thirteen was coordinating evacuation. Other pros were arriving now, backup finally reaching us.
"Is everyone accounted for?" Thirteen asked.
I did a quick count. Midoriya was injured but alive. Tsuyu had saved him from something at the flood zone. Everyone else seemed mostly okay.
"We're all here."
Behind us, All Might delivered a final blow. The Nomu crashed through the roof, launched into the sky.
Shigaraki stared at the hole, then at All Might.
"Cheater," he muttered. "This wasn't supposed to happen."
The mist swirled around him.
"Another time, then."
They vanished.
The aftermath was chaos.
Police, paramedics, pro heroes everywhere. Aizawa was rushed to a hospital, his injuries severe. Several students needed medical attention.
I sat on a bench near the entrance, adrenaline fading. My body ached from the Nomu's hits. Nothing broken, I thought, but definitely bruised.
Momo found me first.
"You're hurt." She pointed at my side.
I looked down. Blood soaked through my shirt. Must have been from the Nomu fight. A gash along my ribs, shallow but long.
"It's not bad."
"Let me see." She sat beside me and lifted my shirt before I could protest. Her fingers were gentle, probing the wound. "This needs treatment."
"I'll get it looked at."
"Now, Kai. Not later."
She flagged down a paramedic. I let them clean and bandage the wound while Momo watched.
"You could have died," she said quietly. "Fighting that thing."
"Someone had to buy time."
"It didn't have to be you."
"Yes it did." I met her eyes. "Because I could."
She didn't argue. Just took my hand and held it.
Ochako found us a few minutes later.
Her face was pale, eyes red-rimmed. She'd been crying.
"Kai!" She rushed over and stopped short, staring at the bandages. "Oh god. You're hurt."
"It's minor."
"There's blood everywhere!"
"It looks worse than it is."
She stood there, trembling. Then she burst into tears and hugged me.
"I was so scared," she sobbed into my chest. "When you stayed behind to fight that monster... I thought you were going to die."
"I'm okay, Ochako."
"You almost weren't!"
I held her while she cried. Momo watched, her expression complicated.
"He saved us," Momo said quietly. "In the flood zone. And again when we found Jiro and Kaminari."
Ochako pulled back, wiping her eyes. "I know. He keeps saving everyone."
"Someone has to," I said.
"It doesn't always have to be you." Ochako sniffled. "You're allowed to let other people help."
"I'll keep that in mind."
She laughed weakly. "Liar."
The bus ride back was silent.
Everyone was exhausted, shaken. The excitement from the morning felt like a different lifetime.
Ochako sat on one side of me. Momo on the other. Both pressed close, seeking comfort.
"This changes things," Momo said quietly.
"What do you mean?"
"The attack. The villains. It's not theoretical anymore." She looked at me. "We could actually die doing this."
"Did you think we couldn't?"
"I knew intellectually. But feeling it..." She shook her head. "It's different."
Ochako nodded in agreement. "Everything feels more real now."
I looked at both of them. Two girls who'd faced death today. Two girls who were still here, still alive, still pressing close to me for comfort.
"It is more real," I said. "That's not a bad thing."
"How is almost dying not a bad thing?"
"Because now you know what you're fighting for." I looked out the window. "Before today, hero work was an idea. Now it's tangible. You know what's at stake."
They were quiet, processing that.
"You're strange," Ochako said finally.
"So I've been told."
"I mean it as a compliment."
"I know."
Momo leaned her head against my shoulder. After a moment, Ochako did the same on the other side.
I sat there, two girls pressed against me, watching the city pass by through the window.
We'd survived. All of us.
That was what mattered.
My phone buzzed.
Nemuri: I heard what happened. Are you okay?
Minor injury. Everyone's alive.
Thank god. I was so worried.
A pause.
I saw the footage. You fought that thing.
Someone had to.
It could have killed you, Kai.
But it didn't.
That's not the point.
I stared at the message. Even through text, I could feel her fear.
I'm okay, I sent. I promise.
Come see me. Tonight. I need to know you're really okay.
I will.
I love you.
I love you too.
I pocketed the phone.
Tonight, I'd see Nemuri. Let her fuss over my injuries. Let her hold me.
But right now, I was just tired.
The bus rumbled on toward U.A.