Chapter 3 (Vigilantes)

"A Changed Gentle Man" is the third chapter of the Vigilante - My Hero Academia Illegals manga.

Summary
Kouchi Haimawari thinks back to when someone said that a society with Quirks is a society which Quirks must be suppressed. If everyone was allowed to do as they please with their Quirks, society would descend into chaos. This is why there are iron-clad rules in place to restrain people from abusing their Quirks and they must use their Quirks moderately to live out normal lives. However, there are people who are an exception to this rule; Heroes, people with Quirks who are authorized to use their Quirks to their hearts content for the sake of the people and the world. All young boys look up to Heroes and aspire to become one because its the only way to unleash their Quirks. However, reality isn't kind as not everyone can become Heroes. As a result, some people with Quirks with nowhere to go head towards a place outside the law.

Two middle schoolers are fighting each other. Watching them from above, Pop Step tells Kouchi that there is a fight. Kouchi heads to the scene using his Sliding Quirk. Having arrived, Kouchi demands that the middle schoolers cease their fight, but his speed due to his Quirk causes him to hit some garbage. As the middle schoolers check to see if he is alright, Kouchi gets up and isn't hurt. At his home, Knuckleduster asks about the speed of Kouchi's Quirk; Kouchi states that the speed is that of a bicycle and if he goes any faster than that he will lose control since his Sliding doesn't have any brakes and shows him a scar on his arm as a result of him speeding up to fast with his Sliding. Knuckleduster gives Kouchi protective gloves for motorcyclists for him to wear which will allow him to put the metal to the pedal to his hearts content and while he is at it he must practice the art of falling safely. Knuckleduster tells Kouchi that he needs a new name; "Gentle-Man" will cause evildoers to make light of him.

Back in the present, the middle schoolers ask for Kouchi's identification. Kouchi tells them that he is the Crawler. However, the middle schoolers know him as Gentle-Man who always picks up trash, which causes Kouchi to start repeating that he is now known as the Crawler and not the Hauler. Seeing that this is going nowhere, Kouchi tells the middle schoolers to break up their fight, to which one of them pushes Kouchi only for his protectors to prevent any damage. As the middle schoolers start kicking Kouchi, Knuckeduster comes in and prepares himself for a fight, but Kouchi tries to stop him as there is no need for him to beat them up. Knuckleduster prefers to beat up on sight as it makes the evildoers cooperate instantly and above all its refreshing, to which Koichi tells Knuckleduster that it is not okay to beat up someone because its refreshing which confuses Knuckleduster. Annoyed that its taking too long for them to stop the fight, Pop Step arrives and uses her appeal to stop the middle schoolers' fight which works.

As the middle schoolers prepare to get an autograph from Pop Step, a rock like villain starts attacking innocent civilians. The rock-like villain's rampage causes a baby to fall out of its carriage. Kouchi manages to save the baby in the nick of time. Knuckleduster punches the rock-like villains but fails to inflict any damage; the rock-like villain retaliates with a punch of his own which sends Knuckleduster flying back. As the rock-like villain admires his great defense and shows his blackened tongue in the process, Knuckleduster gets up and is happy to see that the rock-like villain is a user of Trigger. Pop Step tells the middle shcoolers that there is a drug called Trigger that turns regular people into villains as it enhances their Quirks; Kouchi and Knuckleduster are two volunteers who are trying to stop Trigger from circulating through the black market. The rock-like villains kicks Kouchi back, but he recovers quickly thanks to the protectors. Knuckeduster criticizes the impromptu villain for not growing accustomed to his Quirks and as a result he is full of openings; one example being that his Hardening Quirk, having hardened his body too much has caused his movements to become sluggish and losing focus removes the Hardening. As Knuckeduster grapples the rock-like Hardening Quirk user, Kouchi uses his Sliding Quirk to make the villain fall onto the ground. Due to losing focus and thus his hard defense, Knuckeduster begins beating up the villain with a flurry of punches. Knuckleduster defeats the rock-like villain which causes him to return to normal.

The villain's face doesn't ring a bell to Knuckleduster. As Kouchi restrains the villain while Knuckleduster searches for identification, Pop Step returns the baby Kouchi saved to his mother. Kouchi prepares to take a picture of the villain's face and tongue. Pop Step tells the middle schoolers that people who use Trigger have blackened tongues. Pop Step tells the middle schoolers to not take drugs, to which they agree that they won't The Police begin arriving, causing Kouchi and Knuckleduster to scram. Pop Step begins flying away and tells the middle schoolers that she will see them next time.

Since not everyone can become Heroes, some of them fire off their powers in their every day lives while others change themselves into monsters. The middle schoolers ask who they are. Kouchi tells the middle school boys that they are mysterious new Heroes, Knuckleduster and The Crawler.

At the crime scene, the Police investigate the rock-like villain. According to information, the villain's Quirk is a mixture of Gigantification and Hardening. The detective sees the villain's tongue which is black which is a side affect of Trigger. The detective's assistant realizes that the rock-like villain is an impromptu villain. The detective wants to know who gave the villain such severe injuries and wants to know the Heroes who responded to this villain's crime/ The detective's assistant states that there are no reports of Heroes being dispatched to the area. The detective is revealed to be Naomasa Tsukauchi and the assistant Sansa. Naomasa concludes that the people responsible for defeating the impromptu villain was the work of unapproved, illegal Heroes; Vigilantes. Sansa is glad that the Vigilantes took down the villain since it works in their favor, to which Naomasa tells Sansa to watch his words as they have something called the law and carrying out personal acts of vigilantism is a crime.

At Kouchi's house, Pop Step checks the Internet and tells Kouchi that there are rumors circulating on the web about today's incident, which excites Kouchi as they are starting to get some fame. Pop Step says that everyone is calling him and Knuckeduster "The Big Fisted Mysterious Old Geezer and the Hauler", much to Kouchi's annoyance.