After dropping off her things in her dorm Yukari went out to do some shopping. She needed some more products for herself as well as those noise canceling earbuds. She decided to stay in her uniform for now, since it wasn't that dirty yet and she can change into something more comfortable once she's back from her errands. Picking up her purse and her cane Yukari went out into the city and did her shopping. It didn't take her long and she got everything she needed in one place so she was heading back soon. Along the way she was testing out the new earbuds. They were a bit confusing for her to use so she was trying her best to learn them. She figured out how to do noise canceling so that she didn't hear anything, but then she toned it down so only certain loud noises or things close can be heard. As she was playing around she heard a strange noise. It sounded like a car just scraped against a wall. There was also people talking about a fight. Yukari had to be there now.

She slipped around the crowds using her flexible body to go between the cracks and underneath others, eventually slipping inside a small allyway near the commotion. Tying the bag around her waist Yukari climbed up the wall, grabbing bricks and pipes to bring her up to the rooftop level. It smelled like oil and lint up here. She moved closer and could hear someone's voice. Something about a monster. Was there a villain on the loose? Yukari needed to know more so she crept closer and listened in, adjusting the earbuds so she only heard what was in the alley. "What's going on?" She whispered.

@Lucius Cypher

When she realized that her newest acquintance was about to show off her own quirk, Ruby's expression quickly changed from a neutral one to a rather interested one. She even raised one eyebrow and her eyes widened when she finally saw the quirk being applied. Persia created a portal on the tree, just like that! The "ritual" that she had to do in order to summon the portal iteself was certainly interesting too. Very much a special quirk that Persia had. After a few moments, before her hand was grabbed again, Ruby's expression returned to her usual neutral one. If Persia had wanted to catch her curious face she would have had to turn around earlier.
"I guess this is a Hero Academy after all. Quirks like these should be expected." the neko thought to herself.

Studying the edges of the warpgate itself, Ruby was still contemplating on whether or not she should walk through the portal. That train of thoughts was cut short however, since Persia took it upon herself to drag Ruby's hand through the portal. Kind of amazed, the catgirl stared at her own hand which was now located at a completely different position. "Ru-Chan?" Ruby thought to herself for just a second, being influenced by the variety of nicknames that her newly found friend was making up for her.

Now that she was convinced that it was indeed save to pass the tree, Ruby pulled her hand free from Persia's grip gently and then passed through the portal itself, immediately feeling the breeze and colder athmosphere that was higher up on the tree. The cat stepped onto the branch and did not bother to turn around to face Persia just yet, rather Ruby was busy walking along the branch for a short distance. Her tail was visibly standing up which was probably why she was able to keep her balance so effortlessly on this small branch, combined with her natural athletic abilities. Therefore the girl did not even flinch or shake when she walked along the branch as if it was normal ground. Once she had walked out far enough before the branch would start bending, Ruby began to admire the view.
"You were right, the view is quite good from up here."
Were her short few words before she decided to head back and actually sit down next to Persia.
"So you wanted to show off your quirk, huh?"

---

The group was in the shop for a short time, only time to really glance at the menu after settling down. The shop was full and so busy that they would have to wait a minute to even give their order. While Michiko was busy showing Kaida the top 20 favorite Ramen on her list, Takeshi was quiet. He normally kept to himself, but in all honesty he had never been with friends out for food. He was unsure what to say or even do, so he sat visually uncomfortable in his situation, just because he didn’t really know what to do or say, So he just watched Michiko and Kaida as she was engrossed with the list and possible choices for her first bowl of Ramen.

He looked to Reina and was trying to think of what to say to start a conversation...which was odd as he spoke to her many times while training with her...but this was different. He didn’t have much time to think as suddenly from the front of the store there was screaming then an earth shattering crash as the glass and front of the store exploded from a Bus slamming sideways into the building, blocking the exit and causing massive amounts of dust to cover the restaurant. The force was enough to send the group flying to the floor, catching everyone off guard.

By the time they would get up, other customers were screaming and scrambling to get to their feet. Surprisingly, none of them were seriously injured. But What was scaring them was the fact the bus was now somehow on fire, and quickly. The store owner was calling out to everyone to exit the back of the building to get away from the smoke which was quickly filling the room.

Takeshi looked to the bus, but didn’t see much from the fire billowing out from the windows. He froze when he saw a single silhouette that seemed to be staring at him from within the bus. But as quickly as he saw it, it vanished.

The owner then forced them to exit out the back as well, as they were the last of the group inside the restaurant. Only to find themselves in a darkened alley filled with heavy smoke...Despite the ramen shop being full, not a single customer was in the alley, except for one silhouette at one end.

This commotion was far west from where Acion and Aurellia were searching...opposite of their view.

Hearing Kaida speak in French took Reina a bit by surprise, due to how naturally she transitioned into it. Judging by her reaction, she hadn't realized she had spoken in the foreign language until after the words were out of her mouth. Roy seemed to understand her, which was also surprising, and by his response it seemed like Kaida was beginning to understand what ramen was.

Reina, seeing that the girl looked slightly embarrassed, felt the need to do something to alleviate it. After a moment of thought, all she could manage was a small shrug, as though to say 'no worries.' "You'll know exactly what it is soon anyways. I'm sure you'll enjoy it." she said, adding a slight smile at the end.

The group continued, eventually reaching the shop. Reina froze a bit, seeing the amount of people inside, the anxiety she had been feeling about going out with her classmates growing suddenly. When the got inside to sit down, she made a point to sit on the outside of their table, making sure she had an easy way to leave if she felt the need... well, felt the need to more than she did right now.

Reina kept quiet, hands on her lap as she looked very slowly and deliberately through the menu, glancing up occasionally at her companions as they spoke. This... wasn't so bad. Sure, she didn't really feel like she had anything of much value to say, but she also didn't feel like she was disliked by her classmates. Just being there was fine for now. It was a step towards being a better person.

She didn't have much time to settle in, though. A scream piercing through the buzz of the packed shop made the hair on the back of Reina's neck stand up. Before a moment could pass, the girl processed that it was a scream of distress, and she found herself off her seat, feet taking her one step towards the direction of the noise. That one step was all she had time for before the bus ran through the front of the shop.

Adrenaline now firing in full, Reina's instincts continued to drive her as the milliseconds felt like minutes. She was between her classmates and the front of the building, which meant she could help shield them at least a bit.

Her gravity pushed outwards as she turned her back to the crash site to shield herself, hopefully keeping any debris from injuring any of them. She was knocked to the ground, but after a half-second to assess damage to herself knew that bump was the worst of it. Pushing herself up off the ground, her head spun in the panic to check on her classmates and the rest of the shop's patrons, ready to move to help anyone that needed it. Miraculously, it seemed like everyone was okay enough to stand and move.

Following the owner's instructions, Reina moved to keep herself closer to the bus, pushing with her quirk in an effort to slow the rate that smoke filled the area. She just hoped the vehicle didn't decide to explode, at least for a couple more minutes.

As she and the other 1A students waited for people to evacuate, Reina finally had a moment to think and wonder about what the hell had just happened. She threw a glance over her should, trying to discern the cause of the crash through the bus to no avail. Was it a villain? It likely wasn't an accidental crash, judging by the way the bus had hit the shop on its side.

The group were finally the last to leave through the back exit, Reina following out into the alley. The smoke thinned, but only slightly, leading to some coughing on her part as she glanced at the others. "Possibly a villain. Careful," she said the obvious, though it was more as a sort of role-call or check, to make sure nobody was in shock or something. Just as she finished speaking, she began coughing again, knees buckling and causing her to double over and drop on her rear. The coughing fit lasted several seconds, leaving her teary eyed. Evidently, having been so close to the source of the smoke for the duration of the evacuation had negatively affected her.

_{@Aerandir@Heartfillia@pkken}

Donny jumped back and landed on his back as his enemy tried to smash him with that giant sword. He rolled even further back when he tried again. Donny was holding his “guts” in as he was purely on the defensive; he wasn’t use to direct confrontations like this, where he didn’t have the element of surprise. Or a real fight for that matter. His enemy seemed to be toying with him, casually walking towards him and only taking slow swings. He must’ve known that Donny was inexperienced and, like many others, undaunted by what his quirk enables him to do. ”Ugh, people are too hardcore these days!”[

The hooded man reached for a section of the wall that he had cut down, picking it up with as much ease as picking up a brick. Then he hurled it right towards Donny. Normally Donny would’ve dodged, but at this point he had fallen too far back, and now there was people watching the fight. If he dodged he end up getting those people caught in the crossfire. He had to think fast. And mostly thing with his stomach: when the chunk of wall was sent towards him, his true form emerged from the hole in this suit, an array of bones and black mass that hit the wall. It hurt when it landed right against his body; the thing must’ve been at least five hundred pounds. But that didn’t matter as Donny ate right through it, cutting it in half.

But the one time Donny tries to stand his ground and the guy he’s fighting takes things a bit more seriously, and shortly after he threw the wall he was already closing in on Donny with another vertical smash. Too close for Donny to try and dodge. Not enough time to try and block. Once more, Donny’s gut decided for him; he moved forward, eating everything in his path.

---

The student from general studies crossed his arms and looked contemplative. “Everyone’s sticking to their guns. Guess that’s what happens in a school for heroes. Honestly I’m not even sure why someone from General Studies is here, considering nothing we learn really goes into hero work. Everything is just kind of going over my head… But I can see that we’re not really going to get a compromise anytime soon. I have an idea.”[/color] When the general studies student spoke, a few of the support students seemed indignant, but the more level-headed members kept them in check. They’ve all had a chance to speak, but not the General Studies rep. They could at least hear him out, though that didn’t guarantee any agreements.

Once everyone quieted down the General Studies student looked a bit nervous having all the attention on him. He was rather hoping to just discuss this with Hitomi, but now he was put on the spot. “Well, you know the school has this challenge system thing going on between students. Why not hash it out there? I’m not really for or against this Komei Collective thing since I’m not really going to be part of it either way, so I guess that makes me the closest to neutral person here. We can set up a challenge for someone repping each side can try and compete, and whoever does it best is the side we’ll all support.” The guy tapped the fingers against the desk and looked away. He seemed much more embarrassed now that he’s spoken.

“It’s… Not a perfect plan, I know. Just thought maybe I’d put that out there…”

However everyone else seemed to be taking the idea in. There was looks across the tables as each student sized each other up. What he said was true; though both sides make their own good points, neither were particularly swayed despite what was said. But thanks to what they had said, they knew that this group was split down the middle for those for and against Asahi’s plan. Without the full support of these class reps, the chances of Komei Collective really taking off was nonexistent. But as long as there was support, any attempts to try and ratify and different ideas by different students would get bricked as the Komei Collective idea backlogs any other request. This was the time to decide it’s fate: either to follow through or kill it.

“I like this idea.” Asahi was the first to speak up. “Talking is all well and good, but we know what side we stand on. Now we take action. I, Goroshi Asahi, formally challenge those who are against the Komei Collective. This challenge will take place back at Komei today. Name your challenge.” Tori Tetsuro, who had been one of the more vocal dejectors of the Komei Collective, spoke in representation for his group. “There will be three challenges, the success and failure being judged after all three challenges are completed. Whoever can wins two out of the three challenges will be the winner. Those challenges are the following:” Then with an unnecessary dramatic flair Tori pointed his finger at Asahi.

“Cat herding, karaoke, and scavenger hunt! Each of these challenges will be explained further once the challenge is close to beginning. Each side will pick one member of our own side to take part of the challenge, but they can only do one challenge per person. There will be no assistance, directly or indirectly, from other members of the teams once the challenges begin.”
When Tori put down his hand Asahi just laughed. He seemed unimpressed by these challenges, not just because of how ridiculous they sound, but also because he had confidence that his side will win. He opened his mouth to speak, but then stopped to look towards the others, Hitomi and Tomoe in particular.

“Sorry for getting you two dragged into this. Honestly, I’m not surprised it’s come to this. Everyone in Komei is pretty fanatical in their own ways. But I intend to accept these challenges. But I won’t force you guys to do anything if you don’t want to.” Asahi seemed to be giving his side a chance to back out now. If they lose, they’ll all go down a bit in their rankings with Komei. On the other hand, should they win, they’ll gain a boost up. “I know I’ll win, so stick with me and you’ll achieve great things. But that’s a risk I’m willing to take. No need to stick your necks out on my behalf.”

@liferusher@Silver Carrot

Roy sat quietly next to Takeshi sipping his water, hed rather not make things increasingly more awkward. He decided to take a drink out a glass of complimentary water that was served to the group. He felt quite uneasy a bit but not by the group, as if something bad was about to happen.

Sure enough his gut feeling was right, it was as if time slowed down as a large truck smashed into the ramen shop decimating the building. Roy was launched to the ground out of all the debris that was thrown up, if it wasn't for Reina forcing some of the lose wood and glass away from the group they would have sustained much more damage.

"The hell?!" The blonde was on all fours as he struggled to get up, his vision was a bit shaky as his vision was obscured by the debris. Roy pushed up off the ground and looked around before hearing the store owner shout for them to run out the back, he looked around for his friends but couldn't find anyone but Reina who began heading for the exit. He smacked his teeth and trailed the girl outside the back door where a thick black fog was waiting that chilled the air. The gravity girl began coughing her lungs out as she inhaled.

"Are you alright Reina?" the blondes tattoos began glowing as he kept close by Reina and prepared for the worst.



Down the alley was the masked man watched releasing the black fog that was covering the exit for the group, "About to keel over already? We're just getting started" he said with a smile. The man slowly crept forward his mask becoming even more apparent as he approached the group. A large puff of smoke clung tighty to his Jet black outfit, "Little Kesh, little Ko! Long time no see huh, you didn't bother to send any post cards?" he said chuckling. "Sensei wants your head, dead or alive. preferably alive but ill try my best." The man snapped his fingers and from the smoke were multiple pairs of red demonic eyes glaring at the group with insatiable hunger. At closer observation you could see it was a pack of wolves.

"As for your friends, they'll have to die." the man pointed at the group of kids and the dogs began howling all around them loudly piercing their sense of hearing making it difficult to figure out with direction they would be attacking from. Little did the kids know but they would be facing off one of the shadow clans elite personnel. Hades of the four horesman, he had the ability to create shadow beasts out of dark and control them, his signature attack being the wolf pack where he summons 13 Wolfs with him being the Alpha Male.

10 wolves lept out at the group, 2 for each person and they were going for the kill. Straight for the jugular.

@Aerandir@Riegal@Heartfillia



Persia was taking a look out at the view, it was much more enjoyable having someone next to her rather than being alone. She watched as Ruby walked along the branch like a gymnist, unphased by the instability. This placed a smile on the brunettes face, certaintly this would be a good rivalry and it seems as though she has gotten Ruby's attention.

"I wouldn't call it showing off, more like a tryout to show that I am capable of competing with you. Also...its nice to have some company watching from this hidden gem. I don't exactly flow well with a lot of people in my class, when they talk to me they all give me a weird vibe, like they have an ulterior motive. They don't really just want to be freinds with me which is rather annoying. So usually after class I just come here before heading to my dorm, you could probably tell it is prett hard to find me if I don't want to be found. Persia leaned her head back against the trunk of the tree.

"How about you, were you jsut catching some fresh air? Blowing off steam? I've been haning out here since the second day of school everyday and this is my first time seeing you come here."

@melpaws

---

"Alert, Sky Knights! I repeat, alert!"

Such was the current state at Sky Knight's HQ. Emergency calls from the citizens were received repeatedly in the last few minutes. This was no drills. This was a real incident, though things were still unclear whether it was an accident or a planned attack, but early conclusions and preparations were already drawn based on all the previous reports and investigations they have been doing in recent days.

Even though the leader was not present, procedures were still executed.

"Ma'am, scouts from sector 2, 5, 6, 8, 12 all reports smokes coming from sector 13!"

"Ma'am, calls from nearby citizens dictate that a bus has rammed into a ramen shop downtown Shino!"

The leader of Red Squadron was taken aback by the sudden and overwhelming number of reports coming from this incident. But this was not the first time things like this happened.

Decisively, as if she was the group's leader herself, the dragon-horned girl stood up.

"Sky Knights! Prepare for combat!"

---

"Get your weapons ready brothers!"

"Let's move!"

Every members were raising their combat readiness to unsheathed swords, spread wings and drawn bows.

'Sector 13? That's where Aurelia is patrolling.' Forte looked at the map of the city skeptically.

"All members station at key locations. Be ready to lock the area down in case of a consecutive attack." She said over the trans-organizational communication channel, as she passed the command baton down to another SK's member. "Red squadron follow me!"

---

Meanwhile...

"What did you say?" Aurelia was listening to the reports coming in from a Sky Knight's ground staff when her brother gave her a poke

"Look sister. To the west."

The two looked to the said direction, as black smoke could be seen far away. That was when the message finally got through, lout and clear to her.

"It may have been just an accident, but Forte have ordered mobilization to certain key points, in case if it is a real attack."

The Sky Knight's leader simply nodded.

"Great. I'll look into the site and report back soon enough."

"Be careful ma'am." The voice replied, as she logged out.

Left with a mission at hand, Aurelia and Acion immediately flew in the direction of the smoke. Whilst on the way, Aurelia suddenly tossed over to her younger brother her sword, leaving the latter a bit stunned.

"What's all this?" He asked.

"I have a feeling that this is no accident, so you better have a weapon at the ready." She answered, "I'll cover you. And right after that, we'll switch so that you'll cover me instead." And gave him a thumbs-up. "This is unofficially your first mission. You better be ready."

The winged boy returned the gesture. "I am ready."

Once reached a certain distance, Aurelia suddenly said.

"I will be climbing up now. You go investigate and handle the victims in that restaurant. If there are really someone there, I will be right there."

Acion nodded, as both flyers suddenly separated, with Aurelia soaring up to hundreds of meters in the air, while Acion flying at roof level. Once there, Aurelia quickly executed her procedure. She took out the binocular and looked closely at the target location, which was no longer far from her current location. On the while, Acion was on top of the building that oversaw the ramen shop, along with the burning bus, which was suspiciously placed sideways in the restaurant.

"The smoke's so heavy, I cannot see anything." Acion said as he landed on the street nearby. He tried looking into the bus, the scorching hot flame prevented him from getting any closer. There didn't seem to be anyone inside that bus. Hopefully not.

Acion proceeded to look into the restaurant himself. No one seemed to be in the restaurant as well. They might as well have already evacuated already. There were little signs of human. There were details that really ticked his senses off, like how the bus was sideway in the building. But at first glance, and to an untrained eye, it may as well look like an accident. In this case, he should call his big sis.

"Now how do I use this-"

It was at that moment when a frightening sound sent a chill down his spine. The sound of howling hungry wolf. Multiply and overlapping one another. It appeared to come from the alley nearby.

"Yeah? What did you find?" At this moment, Aurelia's voice could be heard over the com link.

But the winged man was a little too shocked, too stunned and too confused at what he just hear to reply.

@pkken @Aerandir

"We do have that in common then." Ruby said, referring to the lack of friends that Persia had.

Very much like Persia, Ruby was not one to socialize often either. She stared down onto her legs as she was sitting next to her newest acquaintance, remembering all those times that she made friends during her time in school. If ruby wanted to she could count the instances on one hand. And while she wouldn't admit it personally, the balancing on the branch was her own way of showing off. She was unsure about using her quirk at all, which is why she refrained from doing so, but just like Persia she wanted to show her own worth after all.

"I've only been allowed to join the hero course this weekend, so I did not have much time here at all until now. I am still very glad that the committee has recognized my ability. This is my dream after all." The neko claimed, shifting her gaze back up into the leafs who were moving peacefully with the rythm of the wind. Even the usually busy neko could cherish such an idyllic environment to its fullest.
"I guess you could say that I was just lost in my own thoughts."

And with that, The neko turned her head back to face Persia and began talking nonchalantly with a very neutral expression, as it was common with Ruby.
"You were actually quite noisy. I did notice you."
She pointed to her cat-ears, indicating that it had something to do with them. This wasn't the full truth, Ruby did not exactly notice that there was a human in the tree. The only thing she noticed was that something was in the tree but that was about it. Anything else she said was an exaggeration! But of course, Ruby wouldn't tell that to Persia. She was a good liar and somehow felt the need to impress her new friend.

@pkken

Tomoe her opinion barely got reacted too. It was a little awkward once she looked around the group to see if they wanted to give any input. She got a few voices but simply sat down shortly after. She rested against Hitomi her shoulder while the rest spoke. The sheep girl was soft to ly on.

The group soon continued with an apologu of keeping them and letting the conversation run so wild on its own. Tomoe didn't mind, she simply nodded and heard about the challenge. They were gonna have to challenge them if they joined? Tomoe look at Hitomi for a moment to see if she was fine with it and joined them.



Tomoe sat upright and moves her hands to the coffee pot on table to fill her drink by in order to get some more energy. She offered some to Hitomi as well before she set the pot back and sipped lightly of her coffee while lying against Hitomi.

Hitomi considered the General Studies student's idea of a challenge to see whether or not this plan goes ahead. Hitomi personally knew she was willing to fight for this. With a foot in each world she understood how they were linked and how they could help each other in a way that a pure Hero student or a pure Support student wouldn't see. She believed in this. Asahi made it official, and Tori named the challenges; Cat herding, Karaoke, and a scavenger hunt. Hitomi was actually excited. Even though there was a lot at stake to her, this did sound like a lot of fun. She absent-mindedly stroked Tomoe's hair as the discussion was underway, as if she as one of the cats at the cafe.

"I'm in," Hitomi replied to Asahi when he asked them personally for their assistance, smiling when Tomoe also voiced her support. "I'm confident about or ability in these chalenges. I even know which of the three challenges I shall partake in, though I don' know about you two and what you'd prefer to do." She took the coffee offered by Tomoe and answered her with a grateful grin as she took a sip. Thankfully it wasn't as scalding now.

@liferusher@Lucius Cypher

---

It was all a blur for Kaida after the bus hit the building. While Reina protected them from the brunt of it, she had got up and tripped over her own chair. Knocking her head on a table coming down. While not in her hybrid form, she was more susceptible to pain...and quite frankly, she tended to get hurt more than usual. She could feel someone's arms wrap around her waist and help her up. She looked up as her eyes were semi blurry and noticed it was Takeshi and Michiko. She had no time to be blushing, or embarrassed as Michiko helped her out of the restaurant while takeshi stayed behind for a moment. Perhaps he was going to help the people in the bus. She probably would have been a better choice because of her immunity to fire. But before she could say anything he was following them out.

Once outside she got a creepy feeling crawling up her spine. Where was all the customers? Why was it so smoky? The fire was in the front of the building. Michiko froze and started to shake. When Kaida looked at her, she looked like she saw a ghost. She looked to where Michiko was looking and saw a single silhouette standing there, he then started to speak. His demonic voice sent chills down her spine, but he was speaking to a Kesh and Ko...it only took her mind to realize. Was he speaking pet names of Takeshi and Michiko? This guy knew them?!

She saw that they were all in the alley now, and now the owner seemingly disappeared. Roy was standing by Reina who was coughing from the smoke. Takeshi had his swords drawn already after coming out of the restaurant. As if confirming that he knew this man.

He handed one sword to Michiko who took it in her left hand and glanced at her. As if asking through her eyes if she was alright to stand. Kaida nodded and as she decided to turn into her hybrid form under her dress, the wolves attacked. She almost didn’t have enough time to change as she threw a punch at the closest wolf, the creature yelped and and flew hard into the second one right behind it. Sending them both rolling back.

That’s when she felt a slight burn on her hand… These wolves were ICE COLD! This was her weakness! She started to get alot more worried now.

---

As the wolves of Hades creation launched at them, he stayed near Michiko and Kaida.He was ready for the sudden attack. He didn’t even both gracing Hades with a reply as he moved forward and slashed with with a single blow, cutting throw one. He had noticed the other was trying to flank him as much as he could in the alley, but turned his attention to the two coming at his sister, pulling his gun with a swift motion, he barely aimed before squeezing the trigger three times. All three shots hitting center mass of the creature.

He then turned back to his second one and raised his arm, the wolves maw was aimed at his throat, but got his forearm instead. The force and weight of the creature knocked Takeshi down and they both rolled a few times before Takeshi managed to slice his blade into the belly of the beast.

Michiko was glad Takeshi shot the second one, she was skilled with a blade, but not as nearly as he. She couldn't take on two of them, but she knew she could handle one. She raised her blade horizontally and lowered her stance, enough to give her enough strength to withstand the force behind this wolf attack.

She wrestled with the wolf for a moment, as its jaws were now clenched around her blade. She tried twisting it back and forth, nearly losing it as the wolf Jerked his head back just like a dog would in a tug of war. She Knew she couldn’t rip her sword out so she used her right knee and gave the wolf a quick hard knee in the chin. Giving her enough time after he released it to cut off it’s head.

She looked over to Takeshi Just as he sliced the belly of the second beast and turned his attention to Hades, Without hesitating he raised his gun and fired three more shots at the older one.

---

Jais Looked at Mina and shrugged. A Few things actually if you really look. They don't all revolve around the fight. But your actions and decisions you made leading up to it is something to look at. Perhaps finding something that would have been helpful to use against an armored foe. But most importantly I think is the ability to understand failure. This is your first real loss I'm sure... and there will be others. There will always be a stronger or more dangerous opponent in the future that you will lose many battles with. But its what you do about it that will help you achieve the final victory of the war.

He crouched down so he was eye level with Mina. Though his eyes seemed to just look through hers. We all have our weaknesses, while you are ahead of the curve...you must find out for yourself what you still need to work on. A true hero realizes this, and continually tries to better him/herself. I still learn myself at my old age..." He said with a chuckle...hoping she realized why he is saying this.

I can't give you the answers, but I will be more than happy to help you find them. He raised his hand and patted her head gently.

---

Adriane didn't move an inch as the taller girl tried to intimidate her. She just stood there, with her arms crossed and bit her tongue. She listened, and grew irritated at the girls outlook of the world. But she took a deep long breath before shaking her head. You just do not understand. Your mother did not hold back at all. Sure she couldn't defeat that swordsman, You think she made the 'weak choice' by holding back and dying? She did what any real mother would and protect her child. Even if that meant her own death. She was a True hero at the end.

She paused for a moment. Her eyes never leaving the girls. You spit on her memory by not living up to be half the woman she was, for what she stood for. Yes what that boy did was uncalled for, and as much as I hate him for what he did to my son and Mina, or what he was planning, I still don't think he should get a bullet in the head. Because yes, YOU ARE CHILDREN. You are here to LEARN. Taking steps to be ready for the outside world. You have Four years to do that. You don't need to go all out from the get go. And CERTAINTLY Don't need to be killing other students. I don't give a shit about your reasoning for what that boy did. You are Wrong for going for the headshot. You want to live with the consequences for that? You can go to prison if you like for attempted murder. See how that fits into your plan for 'revenge'

@Norschtalen@Silver Carrot

Reina immediately nodded through her coughs at Roy's question, though she stayed on the ground as a less severe round wracked her.

Hearing the voice of someone unfamiliar, the girl forced her eyes open, holding back the coughs as best she could.

"About to keel over already? We're just getting started"

Yeah, a villain. Throwing out taunts similar to ones she had heard a hundred times.

---

"Aw come on, quit squirming! Look, we've already fucked your hair up this far, if we leave it like this it'll look worse than just going completely bald."

"Wow, I don't think you'll be getting with any boys for a while after this, hun. I mean, assuming you did in the first place. But yeah, no, not after this."

Shoko's groupies. If Reina hadn't been living in fear of them daily, she'd have found their shrieking laughs annoying. Instead, they just hurt.

"Why are you fighting so much today?"

Shoko herself. Terrifyingly calm compared to Reina's other tormentors. Her emotionless gaze hurt more than the laughter.

"Are you forgetting why I do this to you?"

Reina had stopped fighting, the other girls now having no struggle to keep her pinned to the cold locker room floor. She didn't have the energy to fight or cry anymore. Her gaze drifted towards the dark hair that had been shaved from her head.

"Answer me, bitch."

The only time Shoko seemed to show emotion now. Controlled, seething rage. Reina's scared eyes looked up at her pathetically as the girl stepped forward into a sharp kick to her gut.

Air forced out of her violently, Reina gasped and coughed, rolling into a ball on her side. The moment she could, she rasped "I di... dn't f-forget."

The rage subsided from Shoko's eyes, her expression reverting to her listless default.

"Hold still. I've got somewhere to be."

Reina complied, squeezing her eyes shut as she fought tears and coughs back, focusing on the pain in her stomach rather than the razor that buzzed in her ear or the fear of what would happen tomorrow.

---

Something about a Kesh and a Ko. Somehow during her thoughts, Reina made the connection that that was likely Takeshi and Michiko. The guy was after them, then.

The wolves barreling down on the group took the girl out of her daze.

Adrenaline spiking again, Reina moved to get up, before being knocked down onto her backside again immedietely by one of the wolves.

The girl's eyes widened as she grit her teeth, pain shooting through her left arm--the beast had been jumping for her head, so she had thrown her arms in front of herself to defend herself, of course resulting in it latching onto her limb instead. It's beady eyes were full of a wild intent to kill, yet somehow those eyes didn't really scare her. At least not as much as others had before.

Still, she was in danger. The rest of her friends were busy with other wolves, and she couldn't use her quirk in this tight space--she'd harm them as much as she'd harm the enemies. The girl beat back the instinct that screamed at her to push this mutt away to protect herself, instead spending some of her adrenaline-spiked energy on repeatedly hammerfisting the top of the wolf's head as she pushed her self back along the ground with her legs.

The wolf shook its head roughly, increasing the damage done to Reina's forearm and getting a short-lived and quiet noise of panic and pain through her teeth.

More pain shot up her ankle--a second wolf biting down. The wolf on her arm was now clawing at her upper body as well, cuts opening up on her stomach and shoulders.

The panic flared as she felt herself pinned down by the two heavy animals. What could she do without her quirk? She was worthless without it. More memories flooded her thoughts as she kicked and punched blindly. Tears rolled down her face as another round of coughing hit her.

Some hero you are.

She was going to be torn apart by two of a villain's mutts. When did she start thinking she could be a hero? When did she start dreaming of being one of the greatest?

Reina's thoughts paused. She noticed she was still battling. Her free arm and leg were still driving themselves into the wolves with every ounce of strength she could muster, despite how quickly she was becoming exhausted.

It didn't matter when. Despite what her thoughts told her she desereved for her past mistakes, she was still fighting. She wouldn't be able to try make up for those mistakes if she were dead.

Her life was no longer hers. It belonged to all the people she'd help in the future.

Reina yelled, this time her voice tinged with frustration instead of only panic and fear. A kick of hers apparently landed hard, as she felt the wolf whimper sharply and let go of her ankle.

Taking her chance, Reina shoved the wolf on her chest to the side, grabbing roughly by the excess skin on its back. Grunting with exertion, she got to her feet, carrying the squirming animal with her, sharp pain running through her leg as she put weight on her badly injured ankle. Twisting her body, she threw her weight into the wolf and slammed it against the wall of the alley, holding it there even though the blow finally got it to let go of her forearm. As she reajusted her grip, this time using her torn-up left arm to grab the scruff of the wolf's neck, the second wolf was back at it, leaping at her and sinking it's teeth into the left side of her abdomen.

The girl viciously slammed the wolf in her hands against the wall again, making sure it's head took the worst of the impact. The wolf on her side hung on awkwardly, only its two back paws touching the ground as it front paws worked on clawing her left side.

Reina grit her teeth against the immense amount of pain from all the injuries she had sustained in a matter of a minute. Her vision blurred as she exerted herself again to slam the wolf she held, this time gasping for air as she kept him pinned on the wall, keeping her head away from his snapping jaw.

Without her quirk, she was weaker. Of course she was. They all were weaker, if they couldn't use their quirk. She also had only recently begun training under Takeshi. Once she got out of this--alive--she'd make sure to ask him for double the lessons.

For now though, there wasn't much she could do in the state she was in, especially without weapon nor quirk. Gunshots ringing in her ears, she spotted the glow of Roy's quirk from the corner of her eyes. He must have been busy with wolves himself, but hopefully by now he could help her. While the second wolf kept at it on her side, she slammed the one in her hands against the wall again, finally feeling it start to weaken and go limp.

"Kusayanagi-san!" she yelled, voice tearing from the coughing, pain, and exhaustion.

Mina listened to Jais patiently, calming down. He was speaking sense. Though, she was annoyed that he couldn't really back up his claim that she could have done more or made any mistakes when fighting Amane. She knew more about how he fought now, and strategies that circumvented his strengths, but at the time, that was the best she could have done given her knowledge and resources, and she believed that.

He was, however, right about failure. She needed one. She would not have driven herself to train to the point of exhaustion without a failure. She would have been unknowingly second-best, and would have been complacent in her ignorance. Now her quirk was even powerful than it was before, and her injuries and exhaustion aside, she was no less skilled than she ever was. This fight with Dulga had highlighted emotional weaknesses, and for that she was glad. It would allow her to avoid making the same mistake in the future. She promised herself that she would never lose her cool and get wild and sloppy ever again.

She may not have correctly realized the meaning that Jais was trying to convey to her, but she did discern a meaning from his words. She would continue to train, to push herself and compare herself to others, and if she ever failed again, if any weaknesses were found, she would quash them as soon as possible. She would be the greatest and most powerful Hero in this school.

The worrying determined steel in her eyes that showed for too brief a second to comment upon was quickly replaced by fiery anger as she batted his hand away. The tears were gone now; frozen over by her iciness.

"You're not my family. I'm not your daughter. You're my teacher. I'm your student. I don't know if my mother ever let you pat her head, but I'm not my mother."

Mina then promptly turned and headed back towards the changing rooms.

@Aerandir

Yukari had sensed enough to know what was going on. She could smell Donny; his strange bulbous form even in the stink of this alleyway. He was fighting someone with a large sword; someone who was strong enough to cleave buildings apart and throw rubble like they were pebbles. Yukari had to help. Yukari scaled the wall quickly to move past Donny and get behind the attacker; she struck at the same time Donny did, and as he lurched forward eating everything in his path, Yukari dove right towards the man with a flying kick, acrobatically avoiding both the thief's blade and Donny's own attack. When she knocked the man back Yukari recovered onto her feet and took on a fighting stance. "Donny. Found some trouble have you?"

@Lucius Cypher

Roy had been frozen in his tracks this whole time, glowing idly like a lightbulb. So this is what it's like to face a pro villain, it was certainly different from fighting that simple thug from last week. No it was a completely different vibe…this foe… was a master of his craft. The way the hair on his body stood up communicated that. Roy’s mind was blank as his fight or flight response immediately kicked simply by this guy’s presence. Roy questioned himself if he was really cut out for this line of work, a kid who had been shackled to a hospital room for majority of his life on the streets trying to protect others was a pipe dream.

He then felt something heavy push him onto the floor, though his mind blank his body reacted on its own as he struggled to survive. The wolves had pounced on him though he stood his ground, struggling to keep them away as they tried to sink their teeth into his neck. Arghhgh! he grunted as his body pushed with all its might, despite his efforts the wolves slowly came closer and closer to their kill as they overpowered him slowly but surely.

Does it end here? My journey?

Out of the corner of his eye he could see Reina struggling with her own battles as well, the wolves were dining on her flesh, slowly sapping the strength out of their meal. It was like watching a lion capturing a gazelle. At this rate she wouldn't last. Reina looked towards Roys direction causing their eyes met for a split second, it was clear that she slowly giving in to deaths hands just by the look on her face and the way she called on his name.

"Kusayanagi-san!"

No..no, dont give up. he thought to himself, the sound of her screaming breathed power into the young man. It was different, this time he wasn't simply fighting for himself but for someone else. He bit his lip hard the point blood dripped down his chin.Its fustrating, its so fucking fustrating being the weakest link. It's like being completely oblivious to everyone around you and when you are noticed its only for how much you let others down or how incompetent you are at a task. You're simple reasoning for being around is so that those above you know that they are better than someone.

He squeezed his fingers tightly around the wolves throat as his arms began glowing brightly before releasing his hold, a smile was on his face as the wolves aimed for the juggular.

"The best offense is a good defense."

Immediately as they tried to sink their jaws in on the boys body they were stopped in their tracks, regret must have been on the monsters mind as its bloodlust backfired. The wolves had been skewered against the boys body as large spikes protuded from Roys neck and chest quickly killing the dogs. With the mutts down for the count he quickly pushed them off before standing up knowing the fight wasn't over yet. His shirt was now filled with large holes all over revealing his abdomen as well as the tattos that were wrapped around it. It sucked that his nice shirt was completely destroyed but there were more important things to deal with. He quickly faced Reina's direction and rushed to her aid, his eyes orange with rage. It was one thing to hear about villains terrorizing innocent people but to watch it first hand was completely different, it pissed him off.

Roy kicked off the ground with his right foot, copying the movements of Kenichi like he had done many times before. With his right hand he made a short sword known as a gladius. He gripped the sword with two hands, one on the hilt and another at the bottom of the hilt as he prepared to thrust the sword into the wolf that was attatched to her side. The Mutt saw as a new enemy approached but it was too late, the sword pierced the wolves neck forcing it to release the girls body that was stained with blood. He cocked his left hand back creating a pair of brass knuckles, with loud shout he launched an upper cut at the the wolves mouth breaking its jaw
and sending it flying through the air. It flew a couple feet back, the bottom half of its mouth hanging on by a thread.

He turned towards Reina who was losing strength at a fast rate, with haste he came and assisted Reina. Since the wolf was pinned down, all he had to do was execute the beast. Roy looked down at the beast with disgust as he helped his friend hold the beast down by changing the brass knuckles into a full gauntlet before reaching for the the beasts neck to properly protect himself. "Sorry Reina", as his hand closed in on the wolf's throat the beast bit visciously into the gauntlet but had little succes as it failed to cause any damage. Roy took his gladius and drove it through the wolves chin and out its skull causing the dogs head to tilt back from being executed, though he didn't look at his opponent when as he delivered the killing blow. His mind was elsewhere, seeing if his friends had won their own battles and thankfully they did. Takeshi and Michiko made light work of their foes as well as Kaida had made quite the distance between herself and dogs. Roy turned back towards his now slayn enemy withdrew his sword from its cranium allowing for the mutts body to go limp before holding the blade to his own chest. "Your wounds are servere" he said as he cut the bottom half of his shirt into pieces so that Reina could at least treat her wounds.

"Are you able to treat your injuries? If not then i'll treat them for you." he said holding out the strips of linen for the girl to take.

@Riegal



The wolves went to town on the group of kids much at their own leasure, Hades stood idly by evaluating the skills of the Komei students though he wasn't impressed all that much. Perhaps it was foolish of me to think Kesh, Ko, and a couple of kids to put up a decent fight against me., he watched as Takeshi and Michiko made light work of the wolves which was to be expected really. He would have been disappointed if they didn't, though what caught his eye was the white haired girl who also made light work of the wolves as well with her incredible strength.

At this point he noticed Takeshi pointing his gun at him in which the villain quickly disappeared into the smoke to mask his prescence, "A pistol? I know you can do better Kesh." The wolves that had been defeated so easily quickly recovered from their injuries as the dark smoke breathed new life into the hellish hounds. Hades began chuckling, his demonic laugh quickly filling the dark alley. From the darkness you could see a red glare as he looked directly at Kaida, the man could the fear lingering from her, surely from just his look she could sense his intense blood lust, she seemed familliar but he couldn't recognize her completely. He simply smiled before his eyes fell upon Takeshi once again.

"You must be really stupid hahaha...I mean seriously did you think you could live a normal life in a academy and it would be the end? Did you really believe you could escape and bring Michiko with you?" From the shadows the sound of a blade being unsheathed could be heard.

"Its disappointing, its so disappointing that its funny, these people must be important to you? Perhaps I shall feed them to my wolf pack in front of your very eyes. Show you why you don't have friends in this line of work, because your weakness will be exploited by the enemy." Out of the smoke came Hades as he closed in with incredible speed on Takeshi, he swung his katana across the boys chest before planning to follow up with and elbow straight to the chin to daze the young man. With his left hand he snapped his fingers which made the wolves began acting differently.

The wolves that had been blown back from Kaidas punch rose once again, shaking their heads roughly as they try to shrug off the haymaker that they had just took. Shortly they released a large howl together in synchronization as the two dogs soon began fusing together and gaining mass before letting out a large growl at the white haired girl. They rivaled her in height and surpassed her in sheer size at this point. The wolf now had two heads with large enoughs, big enough to devour a small child whole. It pounced on the white haired girl releasing a earsplitting growl as it tried to rip her flesh apart.

"You've never defeated me before Kesh... perhaps you can beat me now while you have lives on the line? Maybe I'll even kill that little bitch you call a sister!"

@Aerandir@Heartfillia



Persia smiled at Ruby finding out that they shared something in common, even if it was something as gloomy such as not not fitting in. This was when Ruby relinquinshed the information answering her question as to why they have just only met. "That explains why I've never seen you before... especially if your in the infamous 1-A who are known for having trouble makers...but you know it looks like that class is pretty fun. She said chuckling to herself before Ruby added on that she was noisy, not knowing that she was tricking the brunette.

She watched as Ruby pointed at her cat hears, cuasing the brunette to glow red out of embarrasment."Whaaat! I thought I was totally sneaky...thats so mean of you Ru-chan, you even waited for me to speak before talking you big meany!" She said playfully beating her hands into the legs of her new friend before folding her arms and pouting once more. "Now I feel dumb, next time say hi first instead of letting me look stupid!" She said whining to herself. As she looked off into the distance she saw a blonde girl with pig tails coming from the gymnasium, immediately changing her expression and attitude. "Hey Ru-Chan, isn't that the girl who got obliterated by that Amane guy in one of your training exercises." She said as she watched Mina walk through the courtyard, "I feel pretty bad that she got destroyed like that, not only because she lost but because everyone is pitying her because of it, it must be really embarassing."

@melpaws@Silver Carrot

Dulga turned away from Adriane and grabbed her belongings. She wasn’t wrong; frankly Dulga’s mother actually survived her fight with Kensai without a scratch. What killed her wasn’t Kensai, not directly. No what killed her was when she was saving Dulga. Because Dulga was too slow, too weak to save herself. And it was true; she couldn’t measure up to her mother in either skills or morals. Dulga knew this and accepted it. ”I don’t know what you expected and I don’t care. I’m nothing like my mother. This conversation is over.”

Dulga walked towards the changing room to wash up and get out of her dirty clothes. She lost her mood to keep fighting both verbally and physically. She was just going to grab her guns and take a train back to her old home and do some hunting, maybe think about things. She didn’t expect anyone to see her this weekend so some time alone would be nice, or at least that’s what Dulga wanted to believe. She wanted to keep thinking that all she needs to do is hone her skills and be better. Anything else was just going to muddle her goal. Friends, honor, heroism, those were nice little luxuries but Dulga needed to focus on what was most nessisary. Everything else was secondary.

---

---------------------------------

”Acion. Acion. What happened?”

The calling of his sister echoed into his comm links.She noticed how stiff he was down there. Did he get contracted to a mid-control or mental manipulation quirk? Her worries risen. But it was relieved, for a short bit, as his response came.

”I’m alright…I just...hear something coming from the alley.”

”Which alley? The one to the right?” She asked.

”Yeah. A sound of howling wolves. In dozens. And they seem to be on the hunt.”

That sent a shiver down Aurelia. Someone must have been there. And who were those wolves hunting on? Were they being murdered? Should she and Acion come into the alley to try and save them? Decisions had to be made. Quickly…

While the silver-haired girl was adding weights to her criterias, the boy was on the edge, breathing in high alert. His hearing was especially sharpened, tuning for any other sounds that may indicate any other clues of what the hell was going on in there?

He could hear gruntings, blades clashing, guns firing amidst the sound of the wolves hunting their prey. The gruntings sounded young. Students? Then suddenly, a yell, filled with pain, exhaustion and familiarity, brought him back in shock.

"Kusayanagi-san!"

’What?!’

The other partner had stayed at the other end of the alley, incase the others were to run away. But Hades was pretty good at keeping groups occupied so it was more of keeping others from joining in. While his attention was semi on the group fighting he noticed the silver haired girl and blonde boy who were fighting. Hades, don't fucking touch the blonde boy or the white haired girl. Don't you recognize them? Sensei would have our heads if they got hurt badly. He said over his own coms in an irritated cold voice.

He glanced over to see a white haired boy standing dumbfounded in armor. He knew right off the bat that the kid wasn’t a pro...but went to the same school and class as Takeshi. His eyes looked up into the sky to find his sister. The only reason the boy would be out in armor was if he was shadowing someone...and clearly it would be his beloved sister who was the leader of the sky knights.

When a girl yelled out the blonde boy’s name, the boy before him seemed to be finally getting into gear to move in. With a sigh, a black thin shadow shot out on the ground, slithering almost to a trash can. He gripped it with the shadow and launched it at the boy with surprisingly great speed. All while he was in the shadows behind a vending machine.

Kusayanagi? Why is Roy’s name here? And that voice. He recognized it.

’Reina?’

Shit. They must be caught in the crossfire. Or were they targeted?

No time for that now. He paid attention a bit more, and heard some more familiar voices. There was no doubt. His friends and classmates were in there. And he had to intervene.

The moment Acion got his blade ready, halfway unsheathing it, something zoomed straight for him, at an insane velocity. He could not dodge this one. Not completely. No way. In a split second, he both moved his body to the right, whilst raising all three left wings to brace for the incoming object. The trash can collided with the wings violently, producing a large clang as it bounced off his tough wings, due to the acute angle of impact.

”Oh no...” Finally, he unsheathed his sister’s blade. Identifying his targets, he saw it. Behind the vending machine. Someone, with a mask, leaning against the side of the vending machine. The silence filled the winged man with tension. The first time ever he clashed with a villain, a professional one. But he could not afford to shiver upon this. He was born for this, sooner or later. He had to stay calm, and assess the situation.

But his options were limited. The man was standing in a dead corner. Acion could fly up, but that would just give him the range advantage. That vending machine, if he wanted to utilize his feathers effectively, he would have to use his techniques to his fullest, which could cut through even steel. But he had no altitude to build up power. He was on the ground. And flying up would just mean disengaging. That was not an option.

Therefore, he just stood there, at the ready for any sort of attacks this guy had in store. He had to lure this guy out.

Meanwhile, above in the sky, a few hundred meters in the air, the Sky Knights leader was observing everything in her binocular. She too had spotted the target, though not as clearly. She saw that trash can being thrown at him. But then, she saw her young brother standing there, having unsheathed his sword, and did nothing. What?

”What the fuck is he doing?”

She knew it. It was her cue to ready her weapon, along with her comm link.

Rakshasa stood there keeping his eyes on Acion. As he pulled his blade he continued to stand there, allowing the silence to speak volumes. It was clear that he was not at all afraid that Acion saw him or drew his blade. After a moment he decided to play the boys game. He knew he wanted to have him come out from his corner. He took a few steps forward, his arms behind his back casually. His sword still in its sheath. Another shadow snaked on the ground away from both of them towards the truck. Gripping a massive tire he threw it once again from the side of Acion. While he was throwing that, another shadow reached a bench on his opposite side and threw that as well. All the while he walked forward

Unlike last time, he knew it was coming. At first, the tire. It was coming right from the side. Acion quickly jumped backward, dodging it pretty easily. But then the bench was thrown right after he landed. It was coming for him fast. The boy decided to utilize the current stance he had, putting his strength on his two legs and boosted him upward. His wings soared to propel him higher, avoiding the oncoming bench. Immediately after the jump, at the peak, he slashed all wings downward, sending dozens of feathers down to his adversary. Once done, he flapped his wings, flying a bit upward. The initial plan had worked. He was out. But he knew that the attack was nowhere near a decisive one. He was walking towards Acion with his sword still sheathed. He was surely an experienced one, and really confident. This would be a long battle.

All the while, Aurelia was still observing the scenario, assessing her opponent. That ability to use shadows as if it was his own limbs. Extremely dangerous in close range. She must take caution.

Her brother did not make any contacts with her. She knew he was trying to keep her presence concealed, and she planned to keep it that way, until she got the first strike. Though it would be very unlikely that she was going to have it at him completely undetected. The cloud was hanging a bit low today, but if she got below the final cloud level, she would be spotted. A trained eye could easily do that. Her best shot was to take the hundred meter shots and then dove in for the fray. There was a cloud right near her, and she would use that to her advantage. She dove in, and was ready for the shot.

Annoyed his attacks didn’t connect, but slightly impressed the boy knew what he was planning. Slightly. However he was prepared for his counter attack. He jumped quickly but gracefully to the side, one of the feathers catching him in the shoulder but it didn’t faze him.

Rakshasa ripped it it from his shoulder and within a few seconds judged its balance and weight before throwing it back. He didn’t wait though. He then sprinted towards the closest building and ran up the wall and jumped up and towards Acion. He let out a wordless grunt as he then aimed a kick with all his strength towards Acions stomach.

It appeared that one attack had hit. Evidenced by the fact that he ripped that feather from his shoulder and was holding it in his hand. Then suddenly, he threw the feather back at him. Acion was keeping his eyes on him the whole time, so he could see that coming. With a twist of the torso, the feather passed by him harmlessly. However, the next attack was totally unexpected. When he looked back at where his opponent had been, he was already gone. Spotting his target again, he was dangerously close, running up the wall of a nearby building and was trying to kick him out of the sky. He was in no position to dodge this one, and he could barely even block it. The kick made its contact, the strength brutalized his stomach, as Acion was sent flying downward with it. But if there was anything about this young fighter was that he was especially good at recovering his flying path. With a few more turns and the might of his powerful wings, he flew upward in an arc, his trajectory nearly missing the ground.

Aurelia could see what the hell was going on the second she got out of the cloud. Judging by what he just did, he was also incredibly fast. Probably could even rival her movements as well. She knew she would likely miss at this range, but she went for it anyway. She quickly adjusted her aim, and fired with her double crossbow, but only one shot. She was trying to lead at his stomach. The second shot came a second later, a little later than expected, since she was actually trying to predict where he may move to. He could almost likely spot the arrow and dodge it anyway. The second shot would be the one that he could not dodge. But that was only if he moved in the direction that she predicted he would be moving.

After the second shot was done, she immediately dove down, noticing her brother soaring up. She yelled into the comm link.

”Throw the sword up now!”

Acion was still recovering from the stomach pain, and was just able to throw that sword upward when the sight of his sister bolting down, one of her hand catching the hilt of the sword gracefully, while the other hand threw the crossbow upward, giving enough time for Acion to catch it. As he remembered that she said ‘I’ll cover you than you cover me’, he knew what he had to do. Conveniently, there were four arrows on the quiver of the bow, so he was not out of ammo.

While Acion was reloading the bow, Aurelia was charging straight at the shadow guy. Her unsheathed sword at the ready. She would not let her opponent know which direction she would swing the sword, until she was near. It turned out to be a downward slash, straight down.

After Rakshasa managed to hit Acion he landed with ease on the ground, He was continually watching his surroundings and was wondering when Aurelia would jump in. He was sure it was any moment after landing a hit on her kid brother. Sure enough he heard a whistle from a bolt and looked up to see Aureila flying directly towards him. He easily could have dodged this attack but he did not. He only smirked under his breath as he shifted his stance to take the force of the blow. The bolt hit his stomach and caused him to slide back a little. But otherwise he seemed unharmed.

He pulled the bolt from his stomach and tossed it to the side. Side stepping the second bolt as he did, and moving to the center of the road. Giving Aureila a clear path towards him. He watched as the siblings did a fancy weapon switch and waited. He was glad she was attempting to get close to him. Fighting with flyers was always so annoying because they would just hide up in the air and shoot down at a safe distance. But this one, she didn’t mind getting her hands dirty.

He watched her closely as she skillfully hid her attack, which made it even harder because she wasn’t actually standing on the ground. Where he could read her stance. At the last moment he saw it. He gripped his sword and unsheathed it. Where most swordsmen would raise their blade over their head to block the blow head on and turn it into a fight of strength, He did not do this. He gripped his right wrist (his sword arm) with his left hand to steady it, but held his blade with the hilt pointing up and his blade at a forty-five degree angle with his tip pointing to the ground. Most would be unprepared for the deflecting blow, and lose their balance, their blade sliding down his. Where it would protect him but give him a huge advantage to strike with a downward attack, into their exposed back.

Aurelia knew this techniques of deflection, but wasn’t really expecting it to be used here. After all, it was a secret tip that a few swordsmen knew, including her. For that split second, what her master from multiple schools of martial arts and swordsmanship had taught her, what her most fatherly teacher, Jais, had taught her. All of that did not come back to her mind, but her senses. While her mind consciously devise tactics, her body subconsciously acted just as what she was taught. That blow. Once the blade slid down, her back went cold. It was her dead angle, exposed. She had to quickly cover it.

She was passing him, and his blade was coming down at her back. With a quick turn of the torso, she was now facing toward the oncoming blade. She brought her own sword up, narrowly blocking the attack, while she was still falling. Because she had already committed to pacifying his attack, she was in no condition to deal with the fall. Aurelia fell flat on the ground, but was able to do a few backflips to regain her footing, bringing her back into an active standing position. But now she was on the ground, losing that one advantage she had over him: air supremacy.

Expected of the leader of the sky knights. He had learned she was taught the fine art of swordsmanship by Jais Haven, a famous hero from France. But while he was a fine swordsman. He could not compare to the Shadow clan style. He didn’t wait for her to regain her footing before running after her. He knew if he kept her on the ground it would be highly in his favor. Soon he was sure her team will come, meaning time was against them. While he had no issues taking on the sky knights, it would be smarter to do it at another time. He went for a kill slash to her throat, one she would surely parry.

But the reason he did it was so he could get into her head. She could hear a deathly low amused hum coming from behind his mask as he looked down at her with his amber eyes. “Aurellia Nakamiji, you once said that you don’t fear incredibly strong opponents. Rather a team that works in perfect coordination…” He pushed her back and slashed a few times, toying with her really as she was sure to dodge each of his attacks. “If that scares you... ” He used his shadows discretely to come up behind her to cause her to trip while pushing her back with his sword attacks. “Then the clan should be terrifying to you …” While she would perry his attacks she would easily notice each strike was getting stronger and stronger, that above an average human. The ploy worked as her foot was caught by the shadows behind her. But rather than letting her fall over completely he reached out and grabbed her wrist. And with great strength he pulled her back and spun her around as easily as an adult lifting a toddler, in a complete three sixty and sent her flying into the shadows of the alley where his brother was currently fighting.

As she would land hard on the ground he would speak up loud enough for the entire group to hear. “You’re in over your head girl!” In a calm but spine tingling tone.

She had no problems dealing with the initial clashes, but the follow ups were getting stronger and stronger with every single blow. And while she was trying to keep up with him, he was barely giving his all. Was this the Shadow Clan’s might? Or was it just a head start. They were way stronger than she had expected.

She did not reply, her head in a myriad of fear and concentration, on both her surroundings and his attacks. Damn it. He was so fast she could not counter attack. She could only parry him until he slowly overwhelmed her, throwing her into the dark alley. The odds were against her. She didn’t have a team, her brother was pretty useless, and she totally underestimated her opponent.

Being thrown into the alley, she tried to open her wings wide, slowing her down, but not enough to stop her from crashing into a dumpster. But she was ok. Not too painful as she stood up quickly enough. Crap, now that she had been separated, her brother was completely vulnerable against that guy. Aurelia had the urge to charge out, but the wolves, which were scarily big, and was preying on the students nearby, convinced her not to. All she could do now was fight, not to subdue them, but for her own life, and pray that her brother could disengage, in which she knew he would. Despite his idealistic heroism, he was no fool.

The winged man just finished the reloadings when he witnessed his sister being thrown like a ragdoll into the dark alley, where his friends were being attacked. It happened too quickly, way too quickly. Now, he was all alone, against a professional villain. A man a hundred times more powerful than he was. Acion was in a difficult position. He was able to leave, probably unscathed, to gather the other Sky Knights, in which he knew they were stationed in the adjacent sectors, but that would mean leaving his friends and family alone against two, perhaps more, mysterious yet very mighty people. From what he heard, they weren’t faring well. He could stay and fight, but it could mean the end of it. Not just his career, but his life. All washed away in a fight that he knew he was seriously handicapped.

”Arrgghh…”

Acion’s grip on the bow tightened but shaking. For the first time ever, this young hero trainee had learned what was actual fear.

Screw it.

He must not die here. Stay and fight would be heroic, but heroism without a purpose was just plain stupidity. He had to disengage, now.

’Sis, guys. Hang on.’

Noticing that the man on the ground was looking up at Acion challengingly, the winged man quickly flapped his wings hastily, trying to go as high as he could before turning away, flying away, leaving the battlefield.

”Pathetic…” The man said with disgust as he slowly walked towards the alley after watching the boy run away.

@Heartfillia@pkken@Riegal

Asahi nodded his head. "I'm glad to have you two on my side." Asahi turned towards the opposition, a serious look on his face. "We're done here. Let's meet back at the academy and set up the challenge properly. I'll chat with the staff about letting us use these cats." Tori nodded. "Fine by me. My team will set up the karoke booth, and we'll let the General's Student figure out what to do for the scavanger hunt." Said General's Student gave an exasperated sigh. "I have a name you know..." Eventually everyone left leaving just Asahi, Hitomi, and Tomeo behind. Now that he was alone with thin he visibly relaxed and he seemed tired. Even though his quirk specifically prevents him from needing to sleep, he looked like someone who needed to lay down for a nap.

"Thanks for sticking around you two. Honestly, I wasn't expecting you guys to show up or even stick around this long. It's no secret that there's a bit of bad blood between 1A and 1B. Frankly I wouldn't have even bothered asking anyone else if I didn't already know you, Hitomi-san." Asahi received a check for the purchases made by the students as he put them on his card. It looked somewhere in the 3000+ yen range. As he waited for his card back Asahi scratched his head. "Even after we win this, there's still a lot of work left to do. Gotta make sure this Komei Collective thing really takes off and starts making a difference. A lot of what those other guys said was right too, once we start our internships there's a good chance most people who take part of Komei Collective are going to drop out. But all the more reason I gotta make this count." Asahi clenched his fists together and looked fired up again. He took out his phone and extended it towards Tomeo and Hitomi. "If you two don't mind, could we share contacts? That way if either one of us needs anything we can just call each other. I got big dreams for this collective thing, and I wouldn't mind your help."

@liferusher@Silver Carrot