Chapter 39 (Vigilantes)

A Rational Man (合理的な男) is the thirty-ninth chapter of Hideyuki Furuhashi and Betten Court's Vigilante - My Hero Academia: Illegals.

Summary
Koichi Haimawari tries to practice his Scrappy Thrust Style, but Kazuho Haneyama surprises him. She scolds him by saying that he can not shoot projectiles without a license or qualifications, and even if his shots are not dangerous, if he gets caught by a policeman or a hero, he will get into a good mess. After recognizing that she is right, Koichi goes patrolling, but Kazuho can not go with him because she is busy with school matters.

During his patrol, Koichi encounters Octoid, a Next-Level villain with a Cephalopod Quirk. At first, Koichi tries to stop him, but because he did not have any support and the villain has a enormous strength, he decides to warn people to run away while he tries to distract him as he can, while waiting for the authorities to arrive. Koichi tries to stay at a safe distance from the villain, but soon he is forced to escape when Octoid begins to throw rocks at him with enormous force.

Elsewhere, in the Recycle Shop Hoppers, Jiro and Ichiro Hotta are making a deal to sell an illegal drug against baldness to a customer. Suddenly, Shota Aizawa arrives the store, canceling the transaction and the customer hurries away. The Hotta brothers are upset by his presence and they ask him why he does not stop coming to his shop. Aizawa responds to them because he has to keep his ear to the ground about Naruhata black market, to find out about any news or rumors about Trigger, and also because stopping in the shop before patrolling puts him just the right mood, plus they make good cup of coffee. This last response annoys the brothers.

Suddenly a stone breaks the glass of the storefront and causes damage inside the store, which puts the three on guard. When they get out, they find The Crawler, who is warning everyone to take cover. Koichi comes face to face with Aizawa, and both recognize each other from the struggle that Aizawa had with Knuckleduster several months ago. Koichi tries to play dumb and acts as though he isn't the one who Shota thinks he is, but before Eraser Head can ask him anything, they hear a scream.

Octoid had decided to attack a couple of girls, but is stopped by Aizawa. The hero uses his Erasure Quirk on him but checks that it does not work, so he deduces that the villain is another of the subjects modified by the Villain Factory. Aizawa uses his bidding cloth to hold him, and when he thinks that he has already subdued him, at that moment Octoid pulls two tentacles from his torso and attacks Aizawa with them, leaving him severely wounded.

When the villain is about to finish Eraser Head, Koichi stands between them, ready to shoot a repulsion beam at the villain.

Characters In Order of Appearance

 * Koichi Haimawari
 * Kazuho Haneyama
 * Octoid
 * Jiro Hotta
 * Ichiro Hotta
 * Shota Aizawa