Chapter 81 (Vigilantes)

Bee My Pop is the eighty-first chapter of Hideyuki Furuhashi and Betten Court's My Hero Academia: Vigilantes.

Summary
The chapter starts with a what-if scenario in which the controlled mind of Kazuho is thinking of the life her and Koichi could have together if all this had not happened. She sees him and her continuing to fight crime, and then get married and growing up together to have kids. Bee☆Pop takes that envisioning future out of her mind, thinking it doesn’t exist for her anymore. With a sadistic looking face, she declares that she’s gonna be singing her newest single “Bloom”.

While Koichi runs towards her to face her, Koichi recalls an earlier conversation with Soga, in which he told him that if the bees hear Pop singing, they’re going to instantly enter attack mode. Soga explains that after having reviewed and studied the footage, it seems Pop doesn’t have control on every bee normally, but when she starts singing, the bees all enter attack mode.

Bee☆Pop starts singing her song, making the bees attack. Koichi dodges her precise explosions and fights back. Meanwhile, not far from there, detective Naomasa points out that the explosions have changed patterns and that it kind of looks like a mid-air battle or a game of tag is taking place now. Endeavor tells him that it doesn't matter, and recites that when his cool down ends, he’s gonna solve this entire problem.

At Hopper's Cafe, friends of Koichi and Kazuho are watching and listening to Bee☆Pop's song. Some of Kazuho's fellow idols notice the context of her lyrics. They detail her passion and desperation, as well as fleeting presence in Koichi’s life, an incredible sizing up of her weaknesses and inabilities, put out there for all to see. Miu realizes what Pop’s words truly mean and starts crying, as she considers it a pathetic, desperate song.

Bee☆Pop finishes her song, and moves to the sky, content that everyone understands her now. She thinks her final goodbye to Koichi, as she says she will shine brighter than ever, as the bees gather around her. The bees begin forming a circle around Bee☆Pop while continuing to attack Koichi and explode to keep him away. She monologues some pretty mean and downright heavy stuff towards Koichi, saying everytime Koichi will look at a sunset, he will be forced to remember her and his inability to save her. Observing the battle from afar, Naomasa deduces that Bee☆Pop is planning to blow herself up, ending her life.

As Koichi begins to fall from the explosion, he pulls out his master’s grappling hook that Soga gave him as insurance in case his Quirk failed him. Hooking onto a nearby building, Koichi uses it to propel himself towards Pop one more time, using a double jump on top of that. Yelling out her name, he surprisingly makes his way to Pop. When she notices him, Kazuho's real mind begins to break through the mind control that Queen Bee has over her. She seems to be going to reach out for Koichi's hand as she says his name, only to get shot in the chest.

Standing in the streets, with the smoking gun in his hands and a smirk on his face, Number 6 states that Pop seemed to be forgetting her dream, but fortunately for her, he is here to make sure she doesn’t, as he is her biggest fan.

Chapter Notes

 * Kazuho imagines an alternate future in which she had continued to fight crime alongside Koichi, before eventually getting married and having kids with him.
 * Koichi fights Bee☆Pop, singing a melancholy song as the Bees start to encircle her and prepare to blow up.
 * Koichi manages to reach her in time, calling out to Kazuho, allowing her to break through the Queen Bee's spell.
 * Number 6 shoots her in the chest.

Trivia

 * This chapter was initially titled Versus Bee☆Pop (VS BEE☆ポップ), but was amended for the volume release.