Chapter 60 (Vigilantes)

Class 2-A's homeroom teacher reminds his students that most second-years spend summer vacation on work studies, tasting what life as a Pro Hero actually involves. The point is aimed squarely at Hizashi Yamada, Oboro Shirakumo and Shota Aizawa, none of whom has landed an agency. He then sends the class off to change into their costumes for joint practical exercises with Class 2-B, a program spanning Rescue Training, Entertainment Lessons and Battle Training, each supervised by a teacher who studies and grades the students.

Days later the faculty compare notes on the three stragglers. Hizashi looks easy: his Voice Quirk has uses in combat, rescue and entertainment alike, and his only real problem may be picking a lane. Oboro's marks are unremarkable, but his upbeat drive and his fighting ability should carry him at his own speed. Shota is the puzzle. He works hard and posts above-average results in both practical and academic subjects, yet he has no picture of his own future, which makes him a hard sell to any agency.

His homeroom teacher blames the Quirk, thinking back to a Battle Training session where a student named Sensoji beat him with embarrassing ease. Sensoji groused that fighting Shota was a snoozefest and told him flatly that his power was worthless and he ought to just leave rather than waste everyone's time. The teacher pulled them apart before it escalated, and when he checked on Shota, the boy said he was fine and agreed with the assessment.

Up on the U.A. rooftop, the three friends eat lunch with the kitten Oboro picked up off the street. Shota asks what he is supposed to do, given a Quirk that barely trips people up, and admits he is nothing like the heroes who put smiles on faces. Oboro pushes him toward the battle track, arguing that Erasure drags villains down to an even fight. Shota counters that he is no fighter and cannot handle big brawlers, then breaks off to stop Oboro feeding the kitten human food and swap it for cat milk, adding that animals on campus break the rules anyway.

Nemuri Kayama, a third-year, turns up and applauds their rebellious streak for being somewhere off-limits. She is heading home from her work study after dropping off paperwork, and the roof happens to be a favorite spot. Shota comments on her costume, little more than a trench coat worn long, plus a belt, boots and outsized glasses. She calls it bold and practical, tuned to her Quirk and her moves, and says fighting nearly naked does not embarrass her. She knows it will draw scorn and questions, and promises that within a year the whole country will see it differently. What she cannot know is that her outfit will prompt the government's Hero Costume Skin Exposure Limitation Act.

Told that Oboro and Shota are minding the kitten, and knowing U.A. bans animals, Nemuri adopts it herself, naming it Sushi after asking the boys their favorite foods. She frames the arrangement as temporary, since she intends to move out after graduation and will not be able to keep it. Oboro is certain she will end up keeping it anyway.

The next day only Shota and Oboro return to the roof, Hizashi having finally been placed with a battle-oriented agency. Nemuri reappears with an update that Sushi is thriving and, more importantly, news: the pro she answers to has room for anybody who wants a placement, which finally puts a work study within reach for both of them. The 19-page chapter came out on August 23, 2019, was collected in Volume 8 with Oboro, Hizashi and Shota on the cover, belongs to the School Days Arc, and was adapted as Episode 19 of the Vigilantes anime. Sensoji debuts, His Purple Highness is mentioned, and the chapter was serialized as Work Study, or Intān, before the volume release renamed it.