The following week, Class 1-A boarded a bus heading to the Unforeseen Simulation Joint Facility, USJ, where they were scheduled to train their rescue skills. The atmosphere inside the bus was of amusement, most of it centered around Momo, who sat near the middle with Dola perched happily on her shoulder, chirping as though she were joining the class outing herself.
Uraraka leaned closer, smiling. "Why is Dola with you? Shouldn't she be with Junsei?"
Momo gently rubbed the bird's head. "Junsei said she likes me more than him because I feed her the best food," she said proudly. "Isn't she cute?"
"That is one greedy bird," Uraraka laughed, and the others quickly agreed. After all, the bird had gone to Junsei for help first, yet the moment Momo began feeding her generously, Dola had clearly decided where her loyalties lay, abandoning Junsei without the slightest remorse. It gave them all a new perspective on bird behavior.
Far away from the cheerful bus ride, Junsei sat in Class 1-C, listening to Present Mic enthusiastically conduct his English lesson. Junsei remained as expressionless as ever, while Present Mic radiated energy so intense that not a single student in the room could truly match it.
Present Mic jabbed a finger at the board. "Who can tell me what word fits in this empty space? Anyone? Hmm?" His gaze landed on Junsei. "Junsei! I don't recall hearing your voice in a week. Why not contribute to the class?"
Junsei looked up. He opened his mouth, but no words came. Instead, his head snapped sharply toward the window.
Fear echoed through his senses. Dola was calling urgently.
His eyes began to glow blue to see what was going on.
"Junsei?" Present Mic said, confused.
The next moment, Junsei stood. "Class 1-A is being attacked."
Before anyone could react, he rushed toward the window, crashing straight through it. His foot struck the edge for an instant before he exploded forward with terrifying speed, vanishing from sight. A shock wave followed him, the sound alone knocking several students off their feet.
Present Mic stared, stunned. "…He broke the sound barrier?" he muttered. "Class 1-A… is being attacked?" Without wasting another second, he bolted for the door to inform the principal.
As for Junsei, he was already moving faster than almost anyone in the world could follow.
Within a minute, he passed Iida, who was running desperately toward U.A. Iida barely had time to register what he was seeing before a blur rushed past him, followed by a violent gust that forced him to skid to a halt.
"What… was that?" Iida whispered, staring after it.
Junsei reached USJ moments later. He spotted Dola flying nearby, chirping frantically.
"Move," he told her, and then he drove himself forward, smashing straight through the thick wall of the facility, carving a direct path toward Momo.
As he advanced, he saw Momo, Jiro, and another boy from her class, backed against a wall and surrounded by villains. Junsei slammed down beside them, his landing sending a heavy impact through the ground and drawing every eye toward him.
They saw a white-haired boy with glowing, menacing eyes staring coldly at the attackers. Momo froze in shock, then felt a rush of relief. Help had arrived.
The villains recoiled, one of them scoffing nervously. "Another student? Damn it, you scared us!"
They never had time to do anything else.
Junsei moved.
To Momo and the others, it was nothing more than a blur and the sickening sound of bodies hitting the ground. In an instant, every villain lay sprawled and unmoving, Junsei standing among them, eyes still glowing.
The trio stared in horror. Blood pooled beneath the fallen attackers, some of them grievously injured. The boy trembled. "H-He killed them…!"
Momo's face drained of color. "Junsei… did you kill them?"
Junsei turned to her, his eyes fading back to their normal state. "No, they are not truly dangerous," he said calmly. "I can't hit them harder than this."
[He wants to hit them harder?] Jiro thought faintly with a pale face as she looked at some of the villains missing their limbs.
Momo forced herself to breathe. "Why are you here?" she asked.
"Dola called me," Junsei replied.
Right on cue, the bird descended and landed on Momo's shoulder, chirping brightly. Despite everything, Momo smiled. "Thank you, Dola," she whispered. "You saved us."
Then she looked back at Junsei. "Please go help the others. There are more villains around."
"My job is only to protect you," Junsei said.
Momo froze.
Years of living beside him made her forget why he had been there in the first place, why he existed at her side. Junsei hadn't forgotten. Not for a single moment.
A quiet pang of sadness settled in her chest as she realized that, even now, Junsei still saw his life as a job he was meant to fulfill.
"You're still thinking of this as an agreement?" she asked. "A job?"
"Yes," Junsei replied calmly.
Momo clenched her fist. "You don't see me as a friend even now?"
"You are a friend."
That only confused her further. "What is that supposed to mean?"
"I don't understand what the confusion is," Junsei said, genuinely puzzled.
"Why did you come here?" Momo demanded. "Because I am your friend, or because this is a job?"
"Both."
Jiro shifted uneasily. "Umm… I don't know what's going on," she said, glancing at the fallen villains, "but I don't think this is the time for this."
Momo ignored her. "Then why aren't you helping the others?"
"I don't want to save humans," Junsei replied.
That was the moment Momo's irritation boiled over. "After the agreement is over," she said angrily, "and if I needed help, would you come to help me?"
"Yes."
"Argg… why can't you just act and speak normally!" she snapped.
Junsei frowned, clearly confused. "Did I do something wrong?"
"My father is not here," Momo said, her voice trembling with anger. "So you have to listen to me. And I am telling you to help."
Junsei was taken aback by her expression. "I…"
She cut him off. "My teacher is fighting a swarm of villains at the center of this facility. Go help him now!"
His eyes began to glow. Without another word, Junsei turned and headed toward the center.
Denki swallowed hard, staring at the ruined bodies around them. "Can we leave this place now? I can't keep looking at this mangled sight any longer"
"Man up," Jiro said bluntly, then looked at Momo. "What was that about?"
"It's a long story," Momo replied, forcing herself to focus. "Let's go help the others. Junsei will help Mr. Aizawa"
Jiro nodded, and the two ran off, Denki scrambling after them, still pale and shaken.
At the center of USJ, Aizawa was exhausted, injured, and restrained by the monster called Nomu, its grip like iron. In front of him stood a man with hands all over his body and one pressed to his face, shouting in frustration.
"Dammit! All Might is not here," the man snarled. "But you'll make a fine message, the price of him being late."
He approached slowly as Aizawa clenched his teeth, knowing there was no escape. But when the man was only two feet away, Nomu suddenly released its hold as his hulking figure was sent flying.
The next instant, the man was sent flying, screaming as he crashed across the floor.
Aizawa felt footsteps beside him. For a fleeting moment, he thought help had finally arrived in the form of All Might. Instead, when he turned around he found Junsei standing there, eyes glowing blue as he stared coldly at Nomu.
"What are you doing here?" Aizawa asked in shock.
Junsei did not answer. He stepped past him toward the monster.
To the side, the man with hands screamed, "My hand! My hand!" One of his arms was completely crushed from Junsei's sudden strike.
Junsei's gaze remained fixed on Nomu. This creature took a full powered kick at full speed without suffering any real damage, all that power just pushed it away a dozen meters. If a normal person took that blow, they would have become minced meat in an instant.
The more Junsei stared at the creature the more disgusted he felt, it was the foulest thing he had ever seen. Nothing about it felt natural. The life within it was twisted, tormented, screaming with silent suffering.
[Stealing life was not enough for the humans,] he thought bitterly. [Now they are doing this.]
Hatred stirred deeper with every second he looked at the abomination. Junsei made up his mind, this thing's stolen life would return to the world, no matter what.
"KILL HIM!" the man screamed.
Nomu lunged forward at supersonic speed. Junsei met it head-on, rushing forward just as fast. The monster swung with devastating force, but Junsei ducked beneath the blow and kicked its leg with all his strength. A shock wave rippled outward as Nomu stumbled, losing balance for a split second before recovering.
It struck again. Junsei dodged and slammed a punch into its side, yet it barely reacted.
They moved faster and faster, dodging, striking, colliding, their battle growing more ferocious with every exchange.
Aizawa watched in disbelief. A student was matching that monster head-on. The wind generated from the clash alone prevented him from taking a single step closer. He knew that if a single direct blow landed on him, he would die instantly.
He feared for Junsei's life fighting that. But at the same time, he felt glad and grateful that Junsei arrived here, he knew it was wrong to feel this way. But if he hadn't, that monster would have turned on the other students.
And it would have killed them all.