[SS] For Starters...

Something was weird.

Was this a malfunction? Did such an easy trick even have the possibility of malfunctioning? Anyway, what Kuro would stumble upon was unexpected. It wasn’t like there was no irregularity in any of the shafts he was searching.
No, actually there was one in all of them!

«Honestly, you people suck. All this time you’ve pretty much played into my hand and now you’re here. Right where I needed you to be~♥»

Suddenly a squeaky girl’s voice had appeared from the ventilation duct in the middle. However if one were to further inspect that duct one would easily discover a cheap walkie-talkie attached to the duct’s inside by using an extensive amount of sticky tape.

«Well well, whatever. I’d simply like the two of you to remain still, so that I can kill you quickly. Understood?», the girl on the other end announced speaking in an extremely carefree voice. «Oh, right. I totally forgot to mention what happens if you don’t!»

«You know, remote controlled bombs are a pretty brilliant invention. Like for example if you were to spread some kind of poison gas bomb in a ventilation duct~ You could simply trigger it from save watching distance, leaving you absolutely and totally unaffected! Doesn’t that sound awesome?!»

And as the voice continued speaking a person had appeared on the roof of a building that was right on the other side of the small alley they had been in before. It was girl in her mid teens, dressed in clothing quite reminiscent of a bathing suit, yet made of a woolly material. Her most remarkable features would be her long brown pony tail as fluffy as a squirrel’s tail and that reddish scarf she wore around her neck.

While there was something that seemed to be another walkie-talkie in her left hand, there were three shiny and sharp objects in her right. However it could have been highly possible that she was actually hiding the remote control for the bomb behind said walkie-talkie or that the walkie-talkie itself would also function as a trigger.
That girl wore a bright smile on her face. «Your move?»

Damn... The door was a key card, not just a keypad. If it were simply an electronic number combination, he could've ｢read｣ the correct combination and punched it in. As it was, he could still ｢read｣ what the pattern on the keycard needed to be, but he'd need a card of the same type used in the lock so he could ｢write｣ the combination onto it. His skill just wasn't good enough to be able to simulate the combination with only the electric pulses he used for reading.

The key lock, though... It wasn't a combination, but he could determine the positions of the pins inside it. "Here, give me a second. Don't touch the door, you might get shocked." He touched the door near the keyhole and waited about 5 seconds for the image to form in his head. "All right. You should press the first and second pins down about 3 mm, the third not at all, the fourth 5 mm, the fifth 4 mm, and the sixth all the way."

That should get them out.

"What the..." Kuro's voice trailed as he felt the restricted air flow in all three ducts. What could this possibly mean? He didn't have time to dwell on it further before the two of them were addressed by the taunting new voice within the air shaft. From its sound, it was obviously coming through a machine. This, coupled with its placement inside of a ventilation shaft, made for some poor sound quality that was just simply annoying to have to listen to. These feelings only intensified with the less than flattering insults the voice threw their way.

Kuro didn't move from where he stood, again choosing to observe and try and make more out of the current situation. When the speaker made herself known on top of the other side of the alley, he didn't seemed shocked in any way, merely turning his body to keep a good sweeping motion back and forth from the ducts to the her. Yet, in spite of all that was going on, Kuro still managed a smile. This girl spoke so cockily about her victory and manipulation of the two of them, yet she had no way of knowing if things were really totally in her favor or not. He wasn't scared by this, far from it. If anything, he felt like an entertaining challenge was in the making here. And better yet, she could probably lead them to Kisaragi. The mission was obvious: subdue and interrogate. Kuro prepared himself to move at a moment's notice before returning the girl's carefree tone back at her.

"Ladies first."

The door was unlocked, it would finally open, letting in a breeze of fresh air. However none of the two Level 0s would take their time to rejoice over the good news, did none of them appear amused at all. Especially Hamazura was unable to hide the fact that his pride as a lock picker and Level 0 had been severely hurt by the Esper’s unwanted support.

Leaving behind the butchery, the small group would find themselves in an old back alley loading zone that had now become a parking lot, only offering space to five to six cars. But this wouldn’t be an issue due to the fact that cars weren’t that often seen in Academy City anyway.

«I’ll go fetch a car, you wait here.» Immediately after the blonde headed off towards a group of four cars that were orderly lined up on what has been a loading zone in the past. He would inspect each of the cars with the eyes of an expert, searching out the best fit for their current objective.
Meanwhile the other two would remain waiting right next to the door they had just left through.

«You’ll go with us for a little longer. While you might wish to get free immediately, I don’t really enjoy the thought of you being caught right after our paths split and then messing everything up. So I think it’ll be best to throw you off at some safer place than this. Some place with a little more people around. Somewhere where no one would really care.» Even after all that the bandana boy didn’t bother to direct any form of friendliness at the one he was talking to. «But if you wish to run off. Sure, go ahead.»

«Would only make it more authentic, when I catch you…violently.»

A moment later an engine’ noises would announce their upcoming progress…

Mari listened to the static riddle voice coming out of the air duct that Kuro opened. She listened to the voice, irritated that she still had no idea where the girl on the other end was. Mari tried looking around hoping to see her from a vantage point, but...

Huh... well, I was hoping to be proven wrong.

As she listened on to the girl proclaiming her "absolute" victory over the two of them, Mari took the time to observe her, trying to get a good idea of what else she could do.

Alright, I guess she stuck around here to get rid of some witnesses, and make sure we were finished. And... I don't know, the circus outfit screams "acrobat", and she's got some needles on her, either for throwing, or possibly torture... and then there's the trigger... wherever it is.

Mari decided to take a look at Kuro, who seemed unfazed by the girl's threats. Most people would probably be trying to make a moral choice of getting away or trying to reason with her.

Kuro just calmly stated "Ladies first."

A smile curled up on Mari's face, Smug bastard, aren't you? Well, let's see what you can do. As for me... better play it cool too.

"Well, if you insist dude." Mari turned to their supposed captor, "Hey, great plan!. Seriously, props." Mari said, giving her enemy mock applause. "You've got us totally trapped! Hostages in the building, and with a press of a button, you set off a bomb that'll totally end us!" Mari stated, though her tone was less than sincere.

"There's a minor issue with that plan though... what if we hold our breath?" Mari asked plainly. "I mean, it's a gas bomb, not an explosive bomb. We can just jump away if we need to. That can't be all you've got, right?"

Mari turned to the side, with a face showing a sincere disappointment in their opponent, "I don't want to doubt your skills here lady, but... let's just say I don't need a clock to know when It's amateur hour." The casual conversation Mari brought up was oddly familiar, like some other discussions she had with people. It would have almost been real, if it wasn't just bait to see if there was anything else her and Kuro needed to worry about.

As she seemingly placed her hand on the hip her enemy couldn't see, Mari reached inside of her bag, grabbing her knife. Kuro didn't know the full extent of Mari's power, but at the very least, this might at least give him an idea that she was ready to fight.

I never was one for knife throwing... but I'll see how good I am if this bitch does more than just tip her hand.

«Children. Aww. Their stupidity is always something too cute!» The insulting continued. None of the words those two had spoken seemed to have left any effect. That girl wasn’t even pausing to collect her thoughts, did she simply continue replying naturally.

«You really don’t get what a poison gas bomb in a ventilation shaft means, do you? Even a four years old could deduct that I’m totally aiming for the innocent lives here, not the ones of my opponents! But I guess that comes from having some weird chemicals injected into your brains on a daily basis~!» No matter what would be thrown at her, she would remain carefree. Was her plan really that good or was she simply trained to hide her emotions behind a well crafted poker face? Whatever it was, it allowed her to stand at the top during such negotiations.

Placing her left thumb on one of the buttons on the walkie-talkie’s side, most likely the trigger, she continued speaking. «Alright. I’m gonna give you a simple task: If you want to save these many innocent people – I don’t really care for – that are trapped inside this building, I will kindly ask you to finish each other off. Shouldn’t be too difficult, right? Just use those weapons you’ve been hiding all this time~» The girl knew about both their weapons. While it hadn’t been difficult to find out about Kuro’s tessen, she had also seen through Mari’s bag grab trick. Well she wasn’t fully able to see it now, but she had already been able to a few minutes ago.
Someone who was sticking their hand into a bag was always something to be cautious about, especially in a tensed up situation. Police officers knew, so of course professionals wouldn’t be an exception either.

«Guess it really is amateur hour, isn’t it girly~?»

Reading her left thumb, she gave them an even brighter smile than before.

...And he wasn't out of the fire yet. Blue guy seemed like he still had an axe to grind, and yellow guy wasn't there to keep him in check. "Couldn't we just walk?", Masaru thought to himself as he considered the situation at hand. He didn't particularly want to get into a stolen car with people who were, in fact, still complete strangers.

But on the other hand, it sounded like it might hurt a lot more to resist. They wouldn't kill him, right? Why were they running from the police, anyway? All he knew is that they'd come into the bookstore, started harassing him and a Judgement girl, and then through a series of complicated circumstances he'd been forced to lead them out the back. He didn't know anything about these guys. For someone who prided himself on knowing everything there is to know, that was a scary thought.

Masaru groaned. It was going to be a long day. "Sure." He started walking towards the car, dreading each moment as it came.

Roughly 30 minutes later the group composed of Masaru and the two delinquents was sitting inside a blue two doors compact car with four seats. While the car wasn’t anything too impressive it wouldn’t drag any attention if driven by a seemingly poor delinquent, making it the ideal choice for a quick flight.

While Hamazura was on the driver’s seat, Hanzou and Masaru would enjoy the ride on the back seat. To be precisely Hanzou was enjoying himself with the adult magazines they had stolen back in the book store, often stealing his driving pals’ attention by presenting him the most interesting pages he would stumble upon over the course of this joy ride. All in all, the mood had become rather relaxed compared to before.

«Look, Hamazura! Look! Did you ever see an ass this perfect!?»

«Wait a sec! Don’t ya see I’m driving a curve!?»

That was how it had been going for the full length of the ride, loud shouting voices and the never ending joy of beautiful bodies from all over the world, non stop.

«Say, four eyes, are you into video games? Like RPGs or Hack’n Slash stuff or that text based shit?» It had taken quite some time, but the blonde had finally returned to being a little friendlier to their company. The scars of broken pride however would still require some extended time to heal.

A few seconds after that question had been asked, the car finally came to a stop.

Upon taking a glimpse out of the side window Masaru would discover the typical sight of an arcade with a large open entrance truly allowing for an ocean of people to literally flood into the building. However unlike most arcades the insides seemed to be rather well lit, granting the overall appearance some modern touch while still being overloaded with flashy LED lights.

«Guess where we are headed next.»

Kuro finally understood the placement of the bombs now. It'd be bad if they were allowed to involve the innocent lives in the building. But he couldn't let the girl see how much he cared about that part. His face remained stoic as he turned towards Mari with a few misleading words.

"It seems we don't have much choice Mari-san. It's too bad our partnership has to end so soon."

Kuro's words came out with a tone of sincerity as he suddenly threw up his arm, letting loose the scarf that had still been wrapped around his wrist. When it reached full extension, he snapped it down forward again like a whip. At the same time, he took a deep breath to further align himself with his wind element. The result was a violent gale that suddenly blew from Kuro's position, pushing at Mari in the direction of the alley. To a casual onlooker, it might seem like he was trying to push her off the roof and let her fall to the ground below. But Kuro had other plans. With the wind's force behind her, and taking into account the acrobatics she'd shown getting them up here, Kuro was sure Mari would have no problem jumping across the alley and reaching the enemy on the other side. He only hoped that Mari was able to read the situation past his words and make an attack. If she distracted the girl, Kuro could focus on rear support and also remain here to deal with the bomb.

By the end of the ride, Masaru was wishing that they'd just covered his face with chloroform or something. He had had to put up with this sort of banter for upwards of thirty minutes, and staring out the window he began to wonder if all delinquents were dysfunctional as this. Stealing a car one moment, joking around the next. He supposed he could ask Yuuto, but he wasn't really your standard delinquent. Sure, he was nominally a member of Skill-Out, but he still went to school and led a normal life on the side. It was more of a school club for him, not a full-time occupation like for these guys.

His thoughts were interrupted by Yellow, looking back from the driver's seat and talking to him. A few seconds later, he saw the reason why. Was this where they were planning on dropping him off?

"Eh. The ones that're predictable, I don't like. It's better when you're playing against another human."

That was because if it had a set storyline, he could basically just ｢read｣ the arcade machine and win the game. If it had a computer-controlled character, it was a bit more exciting because he'd still need to respond with his own reflexes, but he could still see what the computer was going to do the second it decided to do it. It was only against another player that he'd be challenged.

But an arcade was fine. He'd just stay in there for five minutes, go back to his house, and forget this ever happened. That was the way to go.

Mari listened to her opponent's arrogant speech about their current situation. As much as she was bugged by it, she had to admit, the woman had a point. Things weren't in their favor.

You could have just told us that we sucked and saved a lot of air. Jerk.

Mari turned to Kuro, who had put on a stoic expression. Well, this isn't looking good. Since I haven't taken too closely to my associate's lessons, I still have enough of a conscience to know I should at least try saving innocent people. As for Kuro...

"It seems we don't have much choice Mari-san. It's too bad our partnership has to end so soon."

Mari quickly got into a fighting stance, brandishing her combat knife. Instead of charging in, she decided to watch what he would do. While saving a building of people took priority, it'd be foolish to just do whatever the circus performer asked.

But, Mari was confused by Kuro's actions. Instead of taking out the weapon she knew he had, he uncurled his scarf...

What the...

...And whipped it forward, blowing Mari back with a violent gale.

Crap! That scarf... a magician?! And he's blowing me over the building- Mari was turned by the wind, and saw their captor watching Straight towards HER!

Without a second thought, Mari Let her self hang in the air for a brief second, to let her enemy think she was fallen. Just as gravity was about to send her plummeting, she slammed her foot into the edge of the building her ally was on, cracking the stone, and speeding straight toward their opponent.

"I'll show you amateur hour, lady!!!" Mari started her assault with a slice on the woman's cheek. It would be the first of many as Mari lashed out against her opponent, cutting at her, punching her, even kicking her, careful to avoid dishing out any serious injuries. The point was to keep the woman fighting, not even giving her a second to think about killing her hostages. And hopefully get an edge in this situation.

I can't finish her off, otherwise she could kill those people just to spite us, or she might do it accidentally. Heck, just fighting her is risky! I need that remote out of her damned hands!

"KURO, HURRY UP!!!"

The outcome was fairly entertaining causing the acrobat girl’s smile to grow even wider. «Finally you’re on the right path. Splendid~!» Watching the scene of that Kuro guy turning against the other girl was indeed enjoyable and proof of her plan finally working out. Well of course it would. She had known the results from the beginning on! That was just who she was.

And then without any hesitation that man made use of his strange wind ability, launching his former ally off the roof, down into the abyss. While this might have had the qualities of becoming an instant killing move, there was still something fishy about it. Why would he go for something this indefinite…?
Indefinite that was what it was. If one wanted to surely kill a target they would cut their throat, pierce their heart of behead them in one blow. On the other hand choosing the path of throwing someone off an advanced height would remain something with too low of a probability to actually work out. No, actually it would even allow for the target to easily leave the stage, allowing them to go unnoticed.
Deep down she laughed upon realising just how simple her opponents’ plan had been.

However her internal laughter was cut off by blood being spilled.

Startled by the sudden attack the girl had been unable to make it in time.

A slight scratch had formed on her otherwise perfectly cuddly cheek and blood was flowing out from it. «Tch. Still an amateur.» She had proven extreme skill when performing a last second double step dodging manoeuvre; sadly it had been too late to fully succeed.

Only a split second after the cut, three powerful explosions resounded from all three of the ventilation shafts. All three explosions were of such severe strength sufficient to tear apart those metal made ducts as if they were rolls of toilet paper, blowing holes into the roof top underneath Kuro’s feet as well. Heavy damage.

«Oopsy, I lied again! Well poison gas? C4? What’s the difference~»

Using the sudden dead bringing explosions as a source of distraction the girl jumped backwards while throwing all three of the sharp metal objects at once. Three Japanese style throwing knives. Three extremely sharp and light blades.
All three were thrown with unbelievable accuracy, aimed at places promising a sure kill or at least victory: That amateur girl’s head, the chest and one of her legs. Sure kill confirmed?

Button mashing, colourful erratically flashing lights and the sounds of explosions and violence por excellance. Mitayama Mirai’s day couldn’t have turned out any better. With the arcade release of Extreme Burst Crushers VII EX, the long awaited continuation of an Academy City exclusive game series, every other engagement would be nothing but a waste.

She had been in the arcade ever since school had ended, truly diving into the game’s world, battling any opponent daring enough to challenge her. Thus over the short course of time this extremely brutal 2D fighter had been out, Mirai had given her all to climb to the top of this arcade’s ranking list, taking down opponent after opponent.

…however the time had come that no challenger was left. Her sheer destructiveness and skill had become inhumanly feared, right on the day of the great release.

So what remained was the sad destiny of having to battle the not so well programmed AI of a game that was obviously meant for a minimum of two human players.


Hanzou had taken the lead just as he usually would, Hamazura and Masaru following suit. The car they had used earlier had been left in the parking lot with all doors closed, just in case someone else would intend to steal it from the thieves.

«Predictable stuff, huh? Isn’t it a sport nowadays to find ways of creating games that are impossible to predict either way? Like storylines that simply wreck your mind with every turn and change? Or random events that come so randomly, they’d always end up hitting you hard?»
He wasn’t too far off with this claim, as there had indeed been various Academy City based gaming companies that were keen about developing the most difficult to beat AI ever or a RPG with the most surprising storyline in history.
Of course some of them have been more or less successful, while others weren’t. In the end though the outcome had never been able to surpass the dreams and wishes of the creators, allowing for this vicious circle to continue eternally.

Along with some other youngsters about their own age the group finally set foot into the gaming centre called “Stage 3”. The place wasn’t quite like the usual picture one would have of an arcade. It was brightly lit, mostly white and the consoles were much like machines you’d expect to see in sci-fi movies, be it because they made use of advanced 3D technology, virtual reality or because the designers simply tried to be as modern as possible.
The end result was a space that appeared to be so futuristic even the Playstation 4 would be ranked similarly to a Gameboy Classic.

«You know. If you really like going against people, then for some reason I’d really love to kick your ass in a game...like that one over there!» It might have been his secret longing for payback, but Hamazura felt a great urge to demonstrate his superiority over the glasses boy, settling things once and for all before their ways were to part.

«Smack it off, Hamazura. If we’re seen playing with him people might think that we’re buddies or best pals or lovers or whatever else», Hanzou cut in as harsh as usual. And that’d screw over all the effort we’ve been through up till now, he then added in his mind, not wishing to speak out words that were likely to actually damage his reputation.


«…»

Out on the streets he stood. He had been watching a group of three. He had been watching them for quite a while. Never had his eyes left them, never had he let go of them. It was as if those three were all that mattered to this boy. However it wasn’t the kind of emotion you would see in one who had a crush into someone, nor was it some kind of obsession.

It was predatorily instinct.  

«…Hattori…Hanzou…»

The stage was set, soon the curtain would rise.

The look on her face was dead-serious, as she stared at the flashing screen in front of her. She stuck out her tongue in concentration; Her fingers seemed to burn, while they smashed on the buttons and moved the joystick quickly. She was playing some muscular guy with ferocious fire-techniques; "The Dragon Yakazama" was her favourite character of Extreme Burst Crushers VII EX after all.  


YOU WIN!


Started to blink on the monitor, after she beat yet another AI. "Mou... " Mitayama Mirai let out a short sight. That was kinda... gutless! She needed real opponents, or this whole thing wasn't fun at all!

«You know. If you really like going against people, then for some reason I’d really love to kick your ass in a game...like that one over there!»

Mirai suddenly heard a male, enthusiastic-sounding voice near to her. She blinked, and stuck out her head from behind the arcade curiously; It was a group of three older guys. Two of them somehow reminded Mirai of the troublemakers she 'encountered' from time to time.... But judging people by appearance was gutless, so she didn't think about it too much. The other one, the one with the glasses, didn't look like he wanted to be here at all!

Mirai didn't really care about that for now, though... 'Cause they looked like formidable opponents!

She grinned.

“Fufufufuu~”

The young girl suddenly appeared in front of the strange trio, leaning against a big arcade game while crossing her arms. With a fierce look, she stared at the boy with blond, messy hairs. “So, you want to play a game? Looking for a good battle, huh?”
She pointed at herself with a thumb. “They call me the 'Queen of Stage 3'...” That was not true at all, but it sounded gutsy, so she just went with this. “No one ever beat me in the most brutal and goriest game on this stage! Extreme Burst Crushers VII EX!” The telepath-girl pointed  at the arcade next to her.

“Which of you dares to challenge me?”

Kuro was readying his scarf for another wind trick to try and assist when he heard the beginning of the explosion in the vents. Having only a split second to react, he spun on the spot, letting the scarf swirl around his body. Frankly he looked like a ribbon twirler doing a fancy display. But this was actually his best all around defense move. Wind formed a thin column blowing furiously around Kuro's body. The force could be compared to the wall of a hurricane storm's eye. Kuro inside the barrier was left untouched as the wind kept the force of the explosion off of him. But he could do nothing about his sudden lack of a foothold. The roof crumbled under his feet and Kuro fell into the dark space below.

He had no visual of the other two now. And everything felt sore on his body as he picked himself up. Nothing felt broken, but his robes seemed a bit tattered. Probably the work of the Amakusa damage transfer charm on his clothes. By transferring damage to his clothing, Kuro had taken less injury. Aside from the tatters, he also felt that he was completely covered in dust, splinters, and who knew what else that had been shaken loose by the explosion. The cloud was clearing now, and Kuro could see the sky again. The roof was completely destroyed and he seemed to be standing on a pile of rubble about a story down from the opening. No more Mr. Nice Guy.

Kuro tore off his robe top and cape, leaving him with only his black shirt underneath. With the action of removing clothing acting as an offering towards the god Fujin, Kuro's body felt lighter. He jumped up onto the edge of the ruined roof and surveyed the fight. They'd had many precious seconds in their fight since his fall, but Kuro hoped that Mari was holding her own for now. He readied his club tessen and his scarf and prepared to join their fray.

Mari covered her ears as the explosion went off, glaring at her opponent. and using her ability to nulify any debris hitting her body.

Looking over, Mari noted the collapsed rooftop and her missing companion.

Oh, please don't be dead, I had like two whole months without losing a teammate.

Mari looked at her opponent angrily, and watched as she tossed her weapons at her, trying to take her out. Most people would move out of the way, but she wasn't most people.

Instead, Mari just glared at her opponent and let her powers do the work. She caught the knife aiming at her chest, to keep it from cutting her shirt, and let the other two bounce off of her harmlessly.

She's lucky she didn't hit my glasses. I'm already pissed, being blind wouldn't help.

"Cute." Mari said with chuckle. "You distracted me, and just threw your leverage out the window!!!"Mari shouted as she tossed the throwing knife back at her opponent,

Mari watched her opponent dodge the knife, and dashed forward, launching a harsh kick into her side and knocking her away. She also smiled when she noticed something else.

Mari leaped into the air, and came crashing down, breaking the ceiling around her.

Specifically to position herself so that the girl was both intimidated by her power, and between her and Kuro.

"And if you think I'm pissed, you don't want to imagine how he's feeling." Mari stated, pointing towards Kuro, with a sadistic grin on her face.

The tables have turned, and things were in their favor.

The knives didn’t work; however not in the sense of not cutting the target or simply missing it, but in the sense of being absolutely inefficient in any way possible. That girl hadn’t even moved out of the way, but simply taken them head on. And as she had, it appeared as if those fierce deadly weapons had lost all of their force, just like that.
«Oh well, must be your power, huh?» Even dealing with such a great surprise wouldn’t allow for her poker face to fade. A definite proof of that girl’s professionalism.

She also had an easy time evading that one knife that had been thrown back at her, only to then be struck by the follow up attack. Distractions were the real deal after all. The kick’s impact was powerful enough to knock the acrobat girl off her legs and throw her a short distance, startling her for the time being.
Her eyes widened as she became witness of the leap that girl had taken into the air, reminding one of a boss in some shitty Jump’n Run video game.

«Oh, come on! Not that kind of att-…»

The long awaited meteor like impact came, shattering the ground underneath and probably even damaging the building to a heavy extent, leaving a mark not only on the floor below but spreading even further.
A cloud of dust covered the surroundings of both girls, not giving any of them a proper chance to make anything out for the first few eye blinks. The sound of rubble crashing into the back alley was to be heard, yet not even a hint that’d reveal the pony tail girl’s position.

Dust as far as the eye could reach, no trace of the other party and no time for stupid phrases to crack. However the dust wasn’t the only factor. Something else had begun to spread within the highest level’s ruins; it was darker and much thicker than the original cloud of dust. Smoke had begun spreading, hiding all that was within its reach.
It wasn’t the kind of smoke caused by strongly burning flames, but one that would be used for theatrical purposes, not really poisonous yet still with great tactical value. This kind of smoke granted Mari’s opponent one final chance; she had become truly invisible, in both vision and sound.

A new sound appeared, a smell, the light of burning fuses.

Not just one. Many were spread all around that glasses wearing girl caught within the heavy smoke screen inside a building’s ruins not allowing much freedom of movement. The fuses were either on the ground, still flying through the air or even above her clinging to the leftovers of the roof. However all had one thing in common: The heavy explosions all of them gave birth to.  

Meanwhile her opponent had taken the quick opportunity to escape through what was the only way leading deeper into the building, an already damaged door she had simply kicked in using the flight’s force.

«Shit. One on two isn’t fair you cowards!» She ran like an athlete at the Olympics, passing through the top floor’s corridors, occasionally placing mines with some sort of laser sensor here and there. It wouldn’t be long until she’d reach the stair case…

Someone was challenging them? Masaru looked away from Yellow - Or, actually, Hamazura, as his partner had let slip - to see who had spoken. It was a girl, actually a bit taller than him. She was grinning and looking at them smugly. Didn't she know that they weren't together? This was just his dropoff point from his brief kidnapping, and he was looking to get away as soon as his former captors and allies deemed it safe for him to go.

Then again, they obviously didn't want to be connected with him. What better way to break apart than to accept her challenge, spend a bit of time playing her, and let them go their own way?

"I'll take you up on that. I've beaten every game I've played, so there's no reason not to add this one to the list."

He stepped up to the machine. It was just a fighting game, it looked like. It was useless to try and keep current on the latest games in Academy City, where new titles were released and boxed up in the same week, so he didn't know much else about it. Still, he could probably win at it with a bit of preparation.

"Can we have a practice round first? I've never played this game, so it'd be unfair for you to make me go into it blind. Once I get a feel for the controls, I'll challenge you for real."

The practice round would serve a few other purposes, as well. He'd be able to explore the game electronically, finding out what signals from the program meant what. And, he'd get a taste of the girl's playing style. That would make it easier to predict her moves. If she was really as good as she said she was, he'd need every advantage he could get.

He turned back to Blue and Hamazura. "You guys can go on without me. I'll occupy myself here."

Get out and leave me alone.

«Uh-huh…» Both Hamazura and Hanzou were faced with strong confusion the moment that strange girl had made her appearance. That short speech she held would rain down on both of them, mustering them absolutely defenceless or rather without any words.
«Wasn’t that game released just today…?», Hamazura silently commented, while remaining cautious about forming an actual reply. His friend didn’t even bother to bring up any words at all, as both of them inspected the sudden surprise rather…well.

From her appearance, especially the uniform she was wearing, they were able to deduct that she was still in middle school; all in all a rather average girl with a low count of features that’d leave an impression on anyone.
But still…

«Those tits sure are nice. Maybe we should…-»

«Well, sorry! I totally forgot that our buddy Yuuto is waiting on the 2nd floor! So I guess you should take up on four eye’s offer here!» Quickly interrupting his partner before he’d speak anymore dangerous stuff, the blonde turned around pulling the bandana guy along hastily, quickly fending that girl off with a cheap lie.

«Did you forget what leader Komaba told you, you idiot!?» Hissing a few more words towards his friend, both of them wandered off slowly, leaving the other two and their PVP fun behind, not really paying heed to anything they might say in response.

In the end only Hamazura would raise his hand in the distance, truly adding up to the image of the worst good bye scene ever.

The fight was getting intense. Massive damage was done to the opposite roof as Mari launched her assault on the foe. Kuro was about to jump across and help when thick smoke from some unseen source began to pour out of the ruined building story beneath him. The cloud billowed out like a thick fog, quickly spreading over to the other side, enveloping all three of them. Kuro couldn't see anything anymore. Instead, all he could pick up was a sizzling sound ringing through the air. Something like a bunch of snakes hissing? He didn't have much time to think further on them before he felt a whoosh of air disturbing the smoke as something, or someone, flew by. His attention focused on the new thing as it sped down into the ruined building beneath him. Kuro turned and was about to give chase when the hissing sounds ceased, giving way to large explosions on the other side of the alley. His attention was swayed again as he turned back out of concern for his ally.

"Mari-san!"

"I'll take you up on that. I've beaten every game I've played, so there's no reason not to add this one to the list."

The mental esper raised an eyebrow and smiled at the slender boy with the glasses. "Tehe~! You're self-confident; I like that!" She said to him in a pretty happy voice and crossed her arms, while staring at her new challenger with big eyes.

"I don't mind a practice-round at all! I'm not much for an easy victory, you know?" Mirai answered and nodded... But... she didn't like to loose either.

Even though this fighting game wasn't that complicated, every character had different combos and controls. She wasn't bad with any of the selectable characters in Extreme Burst Crushers VII EX, but she was an expert at playing the "The Dragon Yakazama"; That's why she wanted to go with another character in the practice-round, so that her opponent couldn't tell her tactics and play-style after one round already.

The two other guys, they looked way more startled than 'four eyes' in the first moment, seemed eager to leave this stage. After the boy with the bandana said something in a quiet and strange voice, Mirai looked at him with a confused smile and asked:

“Excuse me~?”

She didn't get an answer, though, as they turned around and took their leave pretty quickly. For a moment, Mirais smile seemed to vanish from her face and she stared at their backs... She turned around to the other boy quickly,  though, and grinned again.

“Hey, how about a bet? If I win in the actual round, you have to treat me to a cake! In the unlikely event of your victory, I will treat you to whatever you want~ Alright?”

...Oops

Mari looked around, surveying the damaged building that she was in. Normally she had a good handle on her strength, and was fairly confident the roof would hold.

Must have been a cheap building. Whoever own this is probably lucky. Better they find out that if a High Schooler can wreck this thing, and Earthquake will do wonders. Mari thought as she looked around, Now where is she...

As she searched the area, she suddenly noticed the abnormal amount of smoke in the air. Not dust from debris, smoke. With a weird hissing noise... noises.

Mari's eyes widened as she realized what her enemy had done.

Fuses!

"CRAP!"

Without a second thought, Mari puts a vast amount of force into her fists, as she smashes down, bringing herself through the floor, and right to the floor below the blasts that are let loose.

With the wood and concrete making up the building taking the brunt of the explosion, Mari had her power active to avoid more damage from the wreckage that was blown at her, merely covering her body, and ripping her uniform.

Pushing a large beam of wood off of her, Mari put her hand on her ears in annoyance.

...Guh! Dammit, my ears! The ringing JUST stopped an hour ago...

As she tried to get her thoughts together, she could hear a faint voice through the noise in her ears, and could barely recognize

"I'm fine, and so's the target!" Mari called out, as she ran towards the nearest door, leading into the hallway. Mari looked around, and saw a door for some steps leading out of the building, to a fire escape.

"Get to the fire escape, I'll flush her out!" Mari called to her ally.

Normally she'd just crash through the building, but she couldn't risk bringing the whole place down, lest her target get away. So to make sure the building wasn't totally destroyed, she'd chase down the girl the old fashioned way. She figured Kuro had something in his arsenal to catch her, so she decided she'd get an idea of just what he'd do.

"Get back here you little bitch!"

That, and she was a bit worried of what she would do to her reckless opponent if she got her hands on her first.

Running. Running. Ruuuunniiiiiing.

That pony tail girl was pouring so much strength into the act of running, it seemed incredibly comical. But that was what was necessary in this situation. She was up against two opponents with super human features, both chasing her and both still somewhat capable of moving. Additionally her own arsenal was running out of assets.
Just a little bit more and she would be left without any defences.

And to top it all, suddenly a beeping noise had resounded from one of her pants’ pockets.

«An arcade centre? Cute! That’s too cute! You’re finally starting to develop, Yuu-chan~!»

Picking up the call she had received on her cutely white-pink cloud decorated flip phone she had slowed down for a short second, allowing for her equipment to stop swaying like crazy. Laughing while the replies from the other side arrived, she truly behaved like an airhead not keeping in mind any of the conditions of her current situation, just as if she was the heroine of some childish American oldschool cartoon.
Upon turning around a corner however she would cross paths with…well guess who!

«You again!? Waaah! Don’t you see I’ve got a call!?»

Not a second too late she would react on the sudden surprise meeting by reflexively releasing another object into the surroundings. Thick black smoke would cover the small intersection that was one of the building’s corridors once again. This time however there was only little space left.

Masaru grimaced briefly at the Blue guy's comment, but it looked like they were leaving. That was good. He'd play this girl, maybe even beat her, and then take his leave of the arcade. It looked like he'd pushed all the right buttons, too, and the game hadn't even begun yet.

"I'm not looking to give you an easy victory, either. The most you'll be getting out of me is a difficult defeat. I don't intend to lose if I can help it."

She was a middle schooler, he could see from her uniform. Plus, it wasn't a particularly prestigious school. With age and achievement on his side, the odds were seeming ever more in his favor, at least to him. That's why, when she offered the deal, he grinned.

"I'll take you up on that. Any particular type of cake you like, or just cake in general?"

She was obviously underestimating him. He had a slight feeling that he might be doing the same, but the practice round would prove that for sure one way or the other. He cracked his knuckles and took the controls of the game console, opening up an electric current from the software to his mind. He could begin to figure out how the game worked now.

"Are you ready?"

“Hmm~ Cheese cake would be nice!”

Mirai positioned herself in  front of the game and looked at the flashy, colourful screen. She smiled... Huh... Just accepting the bet  like this... Did he even play a game of that series before? There was a blinking chart with selectable characters and quick-paced background-music. As if the game wanted to make the player as nervy and excited as possible... Actually, that was pretty much the reason for sure.

“Aw, Aya-chan looks so adorable!” She pointed at a female character in skimpy, pink clothes and a pony-tail. She seemed to be a ninja-like character. “She developed so much from the previous games, didn't she?”  She stared at the guy with the glasses for a moment and nodded. “Choose your character wisely. I'll go with her!”

She selected “Aya-Chan” as her character for the practice round.

"Are you ready?"
“Yeah, I'm ready.” Mirai grinned.

A loading screen appeared on the monitor, and the first round was about to start...