[SS] MissFits

«How long's the line for that thing?»

«I think if we ask nicely, they’ll probably let us go next, nya! Given our circumstances~!»

The nya-nya sky ascension guide gave his reply with ominous implication in his typical laid back tone. He just kept on leading the two of them forwards and forwards, a single destination on his mind, ignoring all possible threats or dangers or even speed limits. It quite well seemed as though he was in control of the situation entirely. Somewhat reliable…or not?

«OK, we’re right there~!»

There? Where? They were still up in the air, below them an eternally deep abyss that was the cliff between buildings. The rooftop of the youth gathering was still a bit off and neither would those see them nor could they make the people down there out in any way, except they would have some kind of binoculars with them, which they clearly hadn’t. Or had they?

However, Tsuchimikado was quite sure that this was the right place. He stopped in his tracks for a mere quarter of a second, stretching his arm to give a signal.

Suddenly the path of the human-blow-dryer rocket twisted.

Grin.

The next instance, without any indicator for it happening, the super high speed projectile was on straight collision course towards them.

With what was reminiscent of bowling pins struck by the marble ball it ran straight into them, throwing the human pins, all three of them, about in overly comedic manner.

Spinning like crazy the two idiots and the other guy would find themselves falling down a great many of metres, at speeds that went beyond any free fall tower, just without the safety gear aspect.

However even with that disastrous outcome Tsuchimikado Motoharu would still wear that broad grin all over his face.

All according the plan...!?

"You're not getting it, are you? What's that about camaraderie in delinquent groups anyway...? The most logical idea to go by is that they want something, though whether that's fame or another goal they have in mind is what's actually up for debate."

Natsuki could feel some of the blood rise to his temples upon hearing her dismissive attitude, youthful indignation curling his lips in displeasure. Typical elite, I'd like to see her try risking her neck for another; for friends, family, or an ideal. Ignorant. He kept the vitriol to just his expression, however, as he let her continue. Afterall, I’m not here to educate an elite on how we live our lives out here… Oh right... I sort of am. Only just remembering the existence of the other elite student he had come here with, Natsuki spent a moment to ponder why the stage was so silent before returning his attention to the elite speaking.

"... their name spread around nicely. After all... Any of you could be part of the MissFits, or part of the "planned attack" of tonight, trying to shamelessly advertise." Natsuki caught the tail end of what she was saying, before she demonstrated to further her point, "As much as I could be. That kind of manipulation gives birth to a lot more fame than just one group causing trouble only to potentially never get the attention on their actual cause for it. So as I said, the actual question should rather be what they're aiming to do by carrying out attacks at random intervals and with randomly recruited members."

Natsuki sighed slowly, the earlier flash of anger having subsided already during her deduction. That said, even when she made sense, Natsuki couldn't get used to this girl; the moment she decided to open her mouth and actually be talkative, it was either just prickly remarks or with an air of authority. Maddening.

Still, her line of reasoning wasn’t one that he had explored yet. Because his focus had been on revenge & justice, he had only been looking for information on the Missfit’s as an organization. Who & Where. As in which doors would he have to kick in to find a masked face behind it. From an outsider perspective, however, the Missfit’s motives were of more interest than who they were; Why & When. Why do they do what they do, and if there’s a pattern to it. Natsuki nodded, acknowledging the new perspective begrudgingly. He stubbornly refused to admit it was a more important line of deduction than his own, but at the very least it was worthwhile to think about when trying to uncover What exactly the Missfits were as a whole. "That… I suppose I hadn’t thought of that. The lack of a goal… The lack of cohesion is what’s gotten us to talk about them… It’s probably good thinking; not half bad for a Tokiwadai-ojou…" He made sure to muddle the compliment in his own unwarranted air of authority, as if he were judging what she had said and had only given it a passing mark. Interesting deduction aside, to Natsuki, she was still an "outsider" talking about a topic he felt he knew better; and he was a little petty about these kinds of things. His companions would shirk away from meat of the topic, however, but not without spilling some more interesting information:

«… All I know is that there’s another medical transport to some hospital or somethin’. They’ve been robbing these frequently. It’s odd how they’re only targeting one hospital’s, but for some reason even with that set in stone catching them never worked out properly...»

«…besides…we shouldn’t in here…really.»

Two separate pieces, both almost equally intriguing. The first bit was a jackpot, and Natsuki positively glowed hearing it. This was a big lead, considering Natsuki had nothing when walking through the door earlier, and with it came a quick rush of excitement that only expressed itself in a slow grin creeping across his face. The second bit came with a bit of intrigue. They had mentioned Missfits might frequent this bar, but was their presence so heavy that …


A gunshot followed by two others rang out through the underground building, interrupting that line of thought. Shouting, screaming, and panic came in it’s wake. Natsuki too, was startled at first, but perhaps due to already being awake from the adrenaline of the previous conversation, Natsuki reacted much quicker than the majority of the patrons whom were simply here to drink and relax. He was already in motion by the time the third bullet rang out. He had calmly set down his drink, wobbled the table to see if it was bolted down, and had climbed on top of it when he was satisfied with it's stability. As he stood up on the table, he looked ridiculous. He knew. He also didn’t quite care. More important things were afoot. There was no thought needed; the sudden gunfire demanded an answer, and there was a quick way to get it.

From a standing position on top of the table, Natsuki confirmed his course and then crouched, looking like he was going to leap off into the churning crowds; However, he froze a moment to curse, "Oh shit, Kana…" before looking back at the two guys at his table. Expecting more from them than he could the Elite, he quickly shouted at them, "My friend on stage? Remember her? Can I get one of you guys to get her and tell her I’ll be… Over there... You know, kicking ass? Thanks, I owe you guys one!" And with that, he leapt off the table and onto the next, neatly hopping over the other patrons either beginning to duck or push in the wrong direction. Sure, he knocked over drinks and glass as he hopped over the crowds, only adding to the screaming and chaos, but it sure as hell was the fastest way to where the shooting was coming from. He wasn’t about to push through the crowds trying to get away, fuck that noise.

Natsuki leapt from table to table supplementing his course by running on dividers to make the best speed; He kept his body low, mostly for balance, but he also hoped to hide his ridiculous approach within the concealment of the panicked crowd. If the shooter(s) were still hostile by the time he got there, he hoped his unexpected arrival and sheer momentum would be enough to get a flying kick in before they could train their sights on him. If they had only come to talk after a few warning shots… Well… He hoped they’d still be willing to talk after their kick, then. They (?) came with guns. He did not. He hoped to even the field a little before demanding answers. And goddamn, if this place is always so full of answers; I have to come here more often!

The most bothersome aspect of this entire situation, to her, was not that there was a group of dangerous delinquents, roaming around the city so full of themselves they'd even announced their attacks, that was honestly something that seemed to be about par for the course as far as Academy City was concerned.

It was very simply that before being a person, it seemed like she was a “Tokiwadai ojou”, a title that had grown the potent ability of grinding her nerves like crazy.

Perhaps it had been her time in this city that had dulled her sense of priorities, or perhaps had it always been that twisted?

Though she wouldn't have the time to answer his more than a little rude compliment and make her skewered lack of care for the planned attack indirectly known.

For that very attack would occur before she could do as much as open her mouth.

Bang, bang, bang!

The noise scarcely bothered her trained ears, nor did she turn around in a shocked manner, knowing that it would bring about more injury than a calm and rational approach. It was almost as if she'd predicted it from the moment she felt someone was trying to advertise the pre-planned attack. She merely turned ever so casually like a young girl looking for a friend in a crowd, looking at the entrance where someone with a currently indistinguishable appearance was forcing their way through with violence.

Unlike Natsuki, she hadn't been flashy in her method of approaching the situation, seeing how in this crowd of screaming and fleeing youngsters, someone would have to take control of the situation before the situation became much more dire and they found themselves involved in a deeper incident.  

She wasn't jumping on tables like some kind of uneducated monkey.

“Great.”

No, all she had done was simple a single word, wonder if she had been forced into a competition of who could involve themselves in the most problematic situation between herself, and a certain boy and girl she knew...

and walked forwards, in a stroll alike taking a walk in a park.

The only thing that would hint at otherwise was her cautiously raised hand.

Kana was simply waiting for the idol to go ahead and decide on whether they should simply give up, or how they'd get through this minor hassle they had all been dragged into. However, it seemed that wasn't what was going to come at all. It wasn't a new concept that an idol would act differently once they were off the stage, that was to be expected. What was unexpected was that she seemed to immediately disregard the entire event.

«Ah, no. Let’s grab a bite! There’s some super good underground pizzeria in some nearby school’s basement!? You heard~!?»

Kana was confused to say the least. What she wasn't confused about was that she should simply abandon this and return to Natsuki. She had work to do, continuing their investigation. It was obvious she had no time to go enjoy dinner with either Kamijou, or the idol.

She turned to face Touko, expecting to see her ready to simply walk away as well, however Kana noticed that it seemed like she was actually upset. Kana felt like it had been a waste of time, but she didn't actually think someone would get so angry over it.

While it was surprisingly she'd be so upset, it wasn't surprising that Touko adamantly refused to join in with the idol's plans. Afterwards, while Kana had difficulty understanding what she had meant by it she implied she would drag her along anyway. Tsukomata was unsure how to read the girl at this point. Did she actually mean that, or was she simply going to insist.

"No, I do not plan to join you tonight, sorry. I actually have something important to take care of."

Tsukomata had no plans of discussing the matter any further. It was as simple as that, regardless of what the idol had wanted. She seemed to be the type who thought she could always get whatever she wanted, and while Kana wasn't entirely sure why she wanted to go to some pizzeria, it wasn't anything she had interest in. She had spent enough time being delayed from her investigation as is. Hopefully Natsuki had managed to find a lead.

Yet, it seemed like there would be no discussion or anything at all. Before she even had time to realize it, someone was grabbing the idol from behind. It was strange, Kana normally was quite observant of her surroundings, she hadn't thought herself so lost in thought so as to be this distracted, despite reacting so slowly to this sudden appearance, however Kana was ready to to try to take action, at least she would be normally. This was when things were starting to simultaneously become clear and unclear. The explanation for why she suddenly was having trouble focusing, thinking at all. Not just that, but her entirely body was no longer listening to her. Suddenly collapsing down to her knees and hands, as she stared at the idol being dragged off. She glanced to the side, and noticed that it seemed Touko was in the same condition. Someone had somehow managed to drug them, or something similar. After those last thoughts, she collapsed down onto the ground, falling unconscious.

Between the lines 1

Summer nights in Academy City were something truly special. Laden by the typical Tokyo summer heat and humidity the atmosphere would feel a bit heavier and hardly chilly. If any place was ever chilly it was likely somewhere run by a customer satisfaction oriented company or maybe a luxurious dorm’s rooms.

However that wasn’t all. Very unlike the big city, Academy City became a silent place at night time. One so silent it was extremely odd for a place categorised as «city». With most of its citizens holding onto the student status and thus being bound by a strongly enforced curfew, the people loitering around outside legally were reduced to the slim number of adults.

One such adult was Yomikawa Aiho, another Tessou Tsuzuri.

During day time they were teachers, however at night they would serve Anti-Skill, the city’s equivalent to a police force.

«….aaahh…I can’t wait to get home and fall into my beeeed…resting my feet….my head…everything….aaaah…..why was today so exhausting…..!?»

No longer capable of walking upright Tessou Tsuzuri, a woman that fit the image of a no-good teacher all too well, let her entire upper body hang down limply, whilst somehow managing to trudge forward on her shaky legs. With her wavy, not to say messy, green hair tied to a pony tail on the verge of coming apart, her thin framed glasses and a frail stature that in no way suited the thick padded military style uniform, she obviously didn’t match anything she should have. If anything, she was the kind of teacher loved by her students for her overall lack of qualification and dominating clumsiness.

In fact, though, going by how messy her hair was that very moment, one could quite well tell how exhausting her day must have been, a thing quite natural for summer vacation in this city.

Right by her side, however, was…

«Come on. Shift’s not over, Tessou-sensei. Get yourself together and pull through. There’s nothing to look forward to, if you haven’t given 100% to your job till the end!»

…her polar opposite.

Tall, strong, beautiful and obviously a potential to become a man’s dream if only she cared a bit more about her looks. Yomikawa Aiho was the perfect kind of teacher, a bit frightening even, with her dedication to her job welling over at every instance. She was the kind to have the ideal looks, that would steal male teachers’ and students’ hearts alike, if it wasn’t for the fact that she’d wear a shabby PE uniform all day. She was tall, her hair long, reaching down to her hips, her uniform suiting her perfectly and unlike her partner she showed not a single sign of exhaustion, walking upright in all her strength.

«Besides we’re not done yet for tonight.»

«Iiii knooow…it’s just…these extra shifts keep piling and piling! …I just want to…rest sometime…»

Faced with her superior’s energy, Tessou just couldn’t keep up her pace. Her voice as weak, every breath she took painful and every further step draining her already non existent stock of energy even more. Was going way below zero even possible?

«And? You know what we’re doing this for. We can’t just stop here if it’s just that holding us back. We both signed up for it, didn’t we?»

Yomikawa’s answer was her solid dedication. Even though she was smiling, a serious air was all over her, when she suddenly stopped in her tracks to face the other teacher.

«We’re both teachers. So it’s expected of us to do extra shifts if it is for the students’ sake. I don’t care if it’s a sleepless night, week or month. If they need us we need to be there. And right now that’s all that matters.»

No matter how dire the situation, no matter how disheartening, no matter how straining, as teachers they had chosen their path for a reason. A reason that wouldn’t just allow for them to slack off. Of course Yomikawa was entirely convinced by this mindset, but it wasn’t just her.

That frail and clumsy no-good teacher wasn’t different either. She may have been the worst kind of role model for her students, however, they still loved her, much like she loved them.

«Y-y-yes Ma’am!»

Somehow forcing her overly worn out negative energy level body’s back into a position quite close to straight, Tessou made her return. She was shaking all over, tiredness written all over her unwashed face and yet there was this visible spark in her eyes. Dedication.

Yet, just a moment later she let her head hang wearily again.

«…uuuh…do you really think we’re gonna find anything tonight…?»

«Even if we won’t, we have to keep patrolling and wait for any reports. Any clue. Any hint. Anything counts. Bastards like those can’t be allowed to run freely like this.»

At last her voice adjusted to the truth of the matter. This was hardly anything laid back or normal. This entire incident was far too serious to slack off.

Tessou’s response this time around was only a short nod, then the two of them finally continued on through the city’s empty streets.

There was no one around, no one in sight, no one to hear. It had been like this for a while. The facade of just another uneventful night.

It would only be after a while that Tessou Tsuzuri would speak up again.

«But…really? Drug traffic? I’ve heard about a lot happening…but this sounds so troubling…»

«Mh. Whichever it is. If it happens in this city, it always means trouble. We just have to hurry before it becomes even more of that.»

They both were in full gear. It wasn’t just padded bullet proof military style uniforms like those you’d expect of Anti-Skill at all times. There were guns, both pistols and a rifle, non-lethal grenades and even a high voltage taser at their belts. Signs of just how serious the situation was.

But that was natural.

The danger was real and it was already spreading.

From there on out they’d have to fight with their best.

Trudging through the night on their slow feet, their watchful eyes would wander all over, until they would find anything.

If it would be around the next corner, in an hour, in a few, all that didn’t matter.

The night was still young and from the prospect of it, it would be long.

They just couldn’t tell how long…

---

Kamijou Touko could feel the world twisting, turning and blurring all around her.

She could feel how heavy everything had grown in just a moment.

She could tell how unnatural the development was, as her legs gave in and her eyelids’ resistance would break just the next second.

As her eyes witnessed the petite former stage idol being dragged away by that owl, she felt frustration at her inability to do anything about it.

She saw the girl’s struggle. She saw the abductor’s lack of mercy.

She felt the urge to help.

However.

Ugh, what’s going on…? My head…?

It was just the same feeling you had after pulling three all-nighters straight in a row. It was as tough every last bit of her energy had been drained and her mind was hammering the limits down upon her with the mercilessness of a drill instructor from military movies.

However.

Come on body!! COME OOOON!!!

She was forcing it with every fibre of her being. And then she did something oddly cliched.

She smacked her own head in a desperate attempt to knock it back on track.

The sound of glass shattering.

Suddenly it all had died down. The haze was erased, the weariness of her body fading and her normal perception of the world quickly recovering. It took a moment of adjusting, but that was all.

In the distance she could still see them run, that strange owl headed abductor and the girl that was struggling against them. It was likely that struggle that had slowed them down a bit, as they still were on the same corridor, just about to leave through the back entrance to the building.

However.

Kamijou didn’t commence the chase she’d been preparing just a moment ago, as her mind ran across another realisation

«Tsukomata!»

She quickly turned for the twin-tailed honour student by her side, only to notice she lay collapsed right there.

It was only logical, but with everything going as hasty as it did there was hardly the time to adjust left. Kamijou acted rashly. Without wasting another moment to dumbfounded staring, she immediately touched the girl’s head with her right hand, dispelling whatever it was that had caught them. After all, if Imagine Breaker had worked before, there must have been some sort of ability at work.

Her mind was still a bit hazy here and there, yet it was still in a state to allow for some quick thinking, even if..admittedly…it wasn’t the best.

«Tsukomata! Tsukomata? Tsukomata, can you hear me? Are you alright?»

Grabbing the other girl’s shoulders with her hands and shaking her like crazy, the pointy haired girl didn't so much as think about a proper way of treating someone who’d just collapsed. If at all she was only thinking about a way to handle everything with as much rashness as there was, running down a purely idiotic on the spot checklist like someone aiming for the best time in a video game.

«Someone took her! I need to hurry!»

There was just that. She wished to go after the endangered girl, yet couldn’t leave behind the other. Even if it was her goal to save a girl right there, she still had to make sure the one with her was alright as well. The ability used should be dispelled, but that didn’t mean there was no lasting damage whatsoever.

So still shaking the Tukomata like a really dumb overdramatic idiot, Kamijou wouldn’t let off until she was convinced. Even if it meant having to transition into the most suicidal sprint to make up for all that lost time, afterwards.


Kitani Ringo was a delinquent through and through. When the System Scan had labelled him Level 0, three school years in a row, he finally decided to quit school for good and began to hang out with the type of no-goods you’d find anywhere in the city’s back alleys.

He wasn’t someone who thought much and on top of that easy to anger. It was a miracle by itself that he hadn’t attacked the teaching staff at his school or his classmates, when talk about him not being as good as the others around him had been raised. However, once he joined up with the likes of himself, that changed.

Suddenly he did stupid things like get involved into fights over even the sight of someone using an ability or someone even giving him an odd glance to begin with.

In the end, though, that made him a name. He was violent, his friends were violent, everyone close to them was violent. Barking Wolf no longer was a group anyone could stand, since, well, they were violent.

Tonight had been another prime example of that.

They were on blind rampage.

After having been attacked by a certain group of even bigger idiots, they had immediately grabbed guns and run straight for an establishment they thought would help them good. However, much like their personality demanded, they hadn’t just knocked or started conversation off with a friendly smile on their faces…

No, they had fired three times, stirred a lot of panic and began to shout.

«WHERE ARE THEY!? WHERE ARE THOSE FUCKERS!? WHEEEEREEEE!? BRING THEM TO US!?!?!?»

Kitani Ringo was in the lead. Tall as he was, wearing a blue jeans jacket with ripped off sleeves to accentuate his thick muscular arms and dark cargo pants tied by an overly long studded belt, he already gave of the basic image of someone who had no idea of what he was doing. However to top it all off his ugly unwashed face bore more piercings than was good. His neatly shaped rockabilly style pompadour hair swayed as he started waving around the gun in his hand, firing a few more shots into the air.

«COME ON! SPEAK UP! OR SHOW YOURSELVES!!!?!?! WHATCHA WAITING FOR!?!?!»

It only needed the addition of foam from his mouth, then the image would have been perfect.

His comrades, much like him, were ugly incredibly unfashionable, yet muscular and armed thugs. One held onto a shotgun, another a SMG and the rest pistols or iron clubs. They were eight in numbers, but that was hardly necessary, considering that even a single one was probably on par with a MMA fighter, at least effort wise.

And yet, there was an even bigger idiot.

Nobody had noticed him, as nobody would have even thought as far as to expect somebody to be this reckless.

However that boy was and Kitani, the aggressive idiot with the gun, was the first to notice before the flying kick struck him straight in the face, knocking him off his legs and back into his company of which some were knocked over, while the rest simple sidestepped.

Struck by the shock of the unexpected counter attack, the other eight of the group found themselves thrown into disarray, resulting in a short period of lasting hesitation.

«…ghn…whatcha waiting for you idiots…GET HIIIIM!!!!»

Only when their boss recovered and gave the order, the remaining eight were knocked back to their senses, immediately making their move. Not the ones with the guns, but three with iron bats or rods in their hands began their charge, simultaneously going for the one boy that had greeted them all so nicely.

It was an all out attack, not really coordinated and blinded by rage.

Yet a hit would still be a good hit, a critical one even.

«...mata! Tsukomata? Tsukomata, can you hear me? Are you alright?»

As her mind began to return to consciousness she could faintly hear Touko shouting for her while she was shaking Kana a bit violently.

«Someone took her! I need to hurry!»

Opening her eyes around the point of hearing that she tried to take in and understand what had just happened. Surprisingly it wasn't very long before Kana's face went from that of someone who looked confused from having their sleep disturbed to that of an almost scarily serious glare. Having taken in the situation, and remembered what had just happened in full.

"I'm alright, don't worry. But you're planning to go after her? Kana considered how the girl had been acting near the end. While Kana didn't fully understand the motives the girl didn't seem exactly like someone she would want to help. It wasn't very long, but she didn't want to leave Touko to handle this situation alone. While she hadn't the best opinion of her before, she did stick around and help. "I'm going with you, okay?" Kana wasn't sure how much time passed, but if she was eager to take chase maybe it hadn't been very long? She was a little unsure of why she fell unconscious, but that wasn't the main concern for now it seemed.

She would need to find a chance to let Natsuki know the situation, but it wasn't a good opportunity now, she could tell Touko was ready to rush off and she was ready to follow her, though she wasn't exactly the best runner.





So much for the possibility that they might want to talk. Natsuki hadn't counted on that as a real possibility to begin with, but the reality that several thugs with bats were now ordered after him reminded him of the best case scenario where no fighting occurred (despite his sneak attack). With no weapons, and being outnumbered it seemed like he would be fighting a losing battle in these conditions. Which is why he would have to change those very conditions. This kind of situation wasn't too different from others he had been in before, it was simply a matter of getting the rest of the people here dragged in with him to even the odds a bit.

Natsuki stepped backwards towards the crowd. "You guys may have me outnumbered," In a quick motion he reached behind two of the men behind him in the crowd, shoving them forward towards the oncoming thugs. The two men looking startled, and confused. They honestly didn't expect to be dragged in, much less thrown in. "But together we outnumber you!" Not only would it serve as a distraction momentarily, but if he can get the rest of these guys to start fighting things will start to even out, or possibly even become favorable. He didn't really know who these guys were, or what they might want, but he could find out after they're taken down. He'll question them afterwards, provided he can take them out.

While the two men he shoved collided into the oncoming thugs he made sure to give them a winning smile, as he reached downward to grab a chair from the nearby table. "C'mon guys, we can't let them get away with this!" Trying to rile up the outsiders, he comes back towards one of the three thugs and slams the chair down over him while the group of them were still surprised or confused. If he could help it, he would try to make sure they wouldn't even get a chance to swing in on him. Depending on where he were to get hit, it could decide the fight immediately, but that's why he'd have to fight dirty and never give them the chance, especially if he can get the rest of crowd involved.

«WHERE ARE THEY!? WHERE ARE THOSE FUCKERS!? WHEEEEREEEE!? BRING THEM TO US!?!?!? COME ON! SPEAK UP! OR SHOW YOURSELVES!!!?!?! WHATCHA WAITING FOR!?!?! …ghn…whatcha waiting for you idiots…GET HIIIIM!!!!»

A deep breath was inhaled, one that people would normally take in to calm themselves from stress or frustration. More often than not, it was a desperate measure since if your problem could be solved by breathing, it likely wouldn't be a problem at all.

(Is today International Headache-Inducing Noise Day? Is this autistic-looking cretin supposed to be the main event?) She groaned mentally, and almost would've done so physically if she weren't in a situation where she could actually endanger herself by standing out too much.

Why were these idiots getting hung up with the notion of numbers, she wondered.

There were such efficient ways of subduing  criminals without necessarily endangering yourself if you were ready to use others as bait, even if you were surrounded and at a clear disadvantaged in terms of actual versus numbers. And it certainly prevented having to brawl like some kind of immature kid.

For all she criticised elite mindsets, Natsumi couldn't deny that she was influenced by a rather heavy one.

Which was why, rather than involve herself in this messy brawl – she had already involved herself in a deadly one and that was certainly enough to last her for a little while – she simply stood by a few metres away and observed.

Observed.

Observed.

What was she observing that intensely?

The stage, towards which she carefully yet quickly moved to for the simple goal of retrieving an item before ensuring she had lost herself in the crowd again after a few moments of waiting.

Then she observed.

And observed.

And observed.

What was she observing now?

The moment where the glorious pompadour of the “autistic-looking leader” and similar haircuts of his eight rushing lackeys...

Would simply be set ablaze one after the other with no mercy shown as another sigh escaped the source of this "cruel" attack.

Today’s weather report: Idiots raining down from the sky!

Tsuchimikado Motoharu grinned upon his fall into the dozens of meters depth.

All had gone according to his plan.

He would fall. The other boy would fall. That other guy on the blow dryer rocket would fall.

Everything was simply speeding by them, as by the seconds they approached the ground at dangerous speeds, ready to squish them into unrecognisable puddles of blood and flesh.

Or so it should have been.

He grinned, knowing that this wasn’t all.

He grinned when the projectile hit him full force.


Takamiya Jin would see a shadow jumping into the slightly illuminated night time sky. Judging from their frail figure it must have been a girl, but he couldn’t say for sure. She was shouldering a metal tube the size of an overseas traveller’s suit case. A bazooka?

He couldn’t say for sure, but something would tell him that presumed girl was gritting her teeth, as she pressed the trigger.

The next instance, faster than his own fall and ability to do anything about it, a projectile flew his way and hit him with a mediocre heavy blow, throwing him a bit off course.

However that wasn’t what would matter.

The moment it hit him it burst into a white somewhat sticky mass, quickly expanding all around him, enveloping him entirely turning him into something quite similar to a gigantic snowball from some children’s cartoon with him at the center.

Now more of a gigantic bubble gum ball, over an ordinary human, he collided with the empty street’s asphalt with what would have been full force. However the latter was just left at a would be. The strange mass absorbed the impact’s shock nearly entirely, spreading it across its glibbery yet somewhat tight body, reducing what the boy would feel to a minimum, whilst keeping him perfectly in place.
It would hurt, but he’d survive.

And just a second later, the first impact to his front would be followed by another to the back.

His mysterious saviour, with that metal tube still on her shoulder had used him to dampen her fall, casually having her feet land and sink into the impact eating snowball without breaking the surface, exerting further pressure onto him.

«The fuck ya think yer doin’, endangering a paying customer like that!?»

The girl spat her words in the least saviour like manner, not holding back on the annoyance she felt right there.

Then, when she jumped off his back the boy fallen from the sky would finally be able to glance at her figure. Defying the expectations delivered by her overly sharp and offensive tongue, she was both young and seemingly frail, a middle school student or maybe a high school first year. Her blond hair was tied to a messy pony tail and her pale skin clearly visible, was all she wore a pair of jeans with the legs torn off right where her thighs began and a white tube top barely covering her average chest with an unbuttoned red leather jacket on top. Her steel plated boots would emit a slight metallic clunk as her feet safely yet shakily landed on the solid ground right in front of him.

«Got anything to say, you rat!?»

Having just turned around, she’d bend her upper body to face him directly, baring both her fang like teeth and an oddly large pulsating vein on her forehead.

His life wasn’t saved at all…

Stopping when asked like a good little nuisance, Takamiya Jin had to admit he was rather curious about what Blondie was up to. It didn't take long to find out, as with a signal from the other boy, the flying hairdryer turned straight towards them. Instinctively, he starts calculating the path of the hairdryer, where it will be in a second. He doesn't have to do that to know it's pointless- Not only will it hit them long before that, but the mere fact that it has a rider interferes with Jin's ability.

A sour taste comes to his mouth as he remembers the reason for that, but the nuisance quickly shunts that aside, dropping the lock on his foothold mere moments before being struck by the flying rodeo.

It would suck to be slammed into an immovable object held by his own power, after all.

The lack of warning doesn't bother Jin much, nor does the fall. While he's still bothered by the reminder that   he will never be in full control of his own ability again, nothing has changed on that end in years. If he still couldn't ignore in when he needed to, he wouldn't still be alive.

As for the fall, he's done stuff like this for fun. He doesn't care in the slightest, as he tries to decide the best way to stop himself. He could just take off a shoe and lock it, buuuut... Then he wouldn't get to see what Blondie was aiming for! And besides, having only one shoe on? So lame. Not worth.

Not that it mattered, in the end.

Less than the second into his fall he would need to lock anything, a projectile from outta left field slammed into the nuisance.

Now, as an Academy City Esper, Jin is more than capable of high-speed calculations such as finding the trajectory of an object, where it will be a second later, and the spacial coordinates of that position, in just about one second. Even as that same object comes rushing towards him. However, when struck by this bizarre restraining goop, it is as though Jin's higher functions shut down for that very same second.

He can't move. HE. CAN'T. MOVE.

If being reminded of how his power could no longer affect objects held by living things reminded him of what he had lost, this reminded him of how he had lost it.

Strapped to a table, locked in a cell. No freedom. NO. FREEDOM.

His heart races as it sets in. He begins to struggle fruitlessly. It doesn't help at all- Mostly because, in the air, there is nothing to struggle against. Even so, Jin struggles, refusing to accept that his freedom be taken. Gone is the cool and collected Jin of moments before, as all that is left in his mind is GETTING FREE.

An eternity later, the ensnared boy feels a pair of impacts as, in short order, he lands on the ground, and someone else lands on him.

The impact seems to have knocked some sense back into him, as the worthless struggling ceases. Jin takes a deep breath, his heart still racing, eyes bloodshot. Rationality restored, Jin immediately starts planning how to get out- Mindless struggling will be worthless. He. Needs. To. Not. Panic.

It's easier said than done.

The girl who trapped him, then landed on him snarls something about endangering paying customers. So that's what this is about, huh?

If he were in his normal state of mind, he totally would be checking out her chest right about now. However, skirt chasing is something Jin can only do so long as he is free... And right now, he is anything but.

His mind races. What answer should he give? What is most likely to get him free, even a moment sooner?

Blame Blondie? No, nobody likes people who shift blame. Hit on her? Too risky, as likely to free himself as to get himself left here until he figures out how to get himself out.

Would be hilarious either way, though, says the small part of his brain that contains Takamiya Jin, Academy City's Greatest Nuisance. He shuts that part down, though. As the professor named after a tree  says, "Jin! Now is not the time for that!"

Get defensive? Go on the offense? Apologize earnestly and feign ignorance? Laugh maniacally?

In the end, he doesn't know this girl well enough to make the best choice.

So, uncharacteristically, he decides to tell the truth.

"I met this guy, across the city. He told me about the rodeo. Was guiding me here when I guess we took a wrong turn. Didn't mean to get in the way."

This is the point where Jin would have shrugged if he were not trapped by goop.

"But hey, that's just how life is."

As expected the sudden inclusion of two men, none of the thugs had seen as anything else than part of the fleeing crowd, threw them into disarray. When their charge was all of a sudden interrupted by others crossing their way, or rather be pushed towards them, they did waste a moment adjusting. Enough time to create an opening. When suddenly an object, a chair, collided with the head of the guy in the middle, they realised the enemy’s tactic.

The attack’s victim was knocked down by the heavy impact, having taken enough of a hit here.

It was that, that allowed them to start recovering. Once they had however, they immediately prove their personal superiority over the simple crowd participants by shoving them aside violently, simply throwing them onto the ground or into the masses, causing more to topple over and more damage as a result.

They wouldn’t hesitate.

Anyone in here was their enemy.

Civilians? Audience? The innocent? The uninvolved?

From their perspective there existed none of these. Just fodder.

The ones at the front would push forth through the crowds, knocking aside those that would try to flee, while those in the back would aim their guns, not looking out for the collaterals. They would simply shoot and with the calibers they had at hand they would eventually hit, even if it meant tearing through some others on the way to that.

Those two would charge at the reckless attacker, not paying any heed to their other comrade who still lay on the ground, beaten. They were ready to make this a short, yet overly bloody beat-up.

Just before they would arrive, though, something unforeseen occurred yet again.

The first to raise his voice to form a scream was Kitani Ringo, as suddenly his most cherished and holy, that pompadour he invested hours into fostering, caught fire. Then the others’ followed suit. They were thrown into a disarray, panic even. Some dropping their weapons and formation, they began to charge off into opposite directions. Some too blinded by the sudden shock of having their hair burn like that, some actually sharp enough to search out a way to save not only their pride, but actually their lives. Fire on your head is a lethal threat after all!

Kitani Ringo was the quickest. Using his overwhelming strength he had no issues making himself a path to one of the tables, simply toppling over anyone who’d stand in his path. There he would grab glass after glass, spilling the contents over his head, until he was sure the burning pain had finally ended…

Yet, some of his men weren’t as smart. As they panicked, their minds were blinded by dumbing rage and bloodlust, born from the immeasurable pain and fear. They didn’t know anything better to do than what they did. Two of them, still holding on to their guns – a pistol and a SMG – suddenly did something entirely stupid. They pressed their triggers, firing into nowhere in particular. The furniture, the ceiling, the walls, the floor, the masses, their comrades. No more able to differ they just shot and kept shooting.

«Shit! You idiots…!»

Ruined hair wolf pack leader Kitani Ringo knew there was no way calling out to them. They had to be stopped with fists, otherwise no end would be in sight. However he also knew there was someone more troublesome among the crowds. And it wasn’t the reckless idiot from before. No, a fire like that wouldn’t occur naturally.

While the two lost causes continued firing and the rest was busy putting out the flames or simply kept throwing themselves about in panic, he’d take cover behind a table thrown over for just that purpose, laying his eyes on the crowd, waiting and watching.

He would find them. He would kill them. He would avenge.

Where are you!? Come you little coward!! Show yourself!!


With Tsukomata not only having returned to consciousness, but also declaring that she’d join along in the chase, Kamijou felt new strength welling up in her legs. Together they would stand a better chance against whoever this strange owl person was that was currently abducting the princess of the odd night life scene.

However before she could set off into her preplanned prearranged sprint, she noticed the sound of further foot steps and erratic breathing, this time coming from the behind.

When turning her head over her shoulder, her eyes caught glimpse of the boys charging towards them. One wearing a pair of skinny jeans, the other baggy pants, both paired with graffiti ornamented hoodies. The prime impression was that of obvious delinquents. And delinquents coming straight for her, was a kind of situation associated with an all too familiar type of memory to her. So nature itself guided her towards her next move.

«Tsukomata! We’re off right now!»

Not even knowing how to speak a good warning anymore, she hurriedly grabbed her partner’s arm dragging her along on the hasty journey towards the other direction. A chasing escape?!

Due to the corridor only reaching about 20 metres in length, they quickly arrived at the end of it, bursting open the heavy security door the next instance. And while Kamijou would give the blonde twin tails elite the lead, she would stay behind to slam the door shut, further barricading it with whatever she could find that seemed heavy enough. A few garbage cans, boxes of empty bottles and some wooden palettes, the typical items you’d find behind any good gastronomy type establishment.

However, while Kamijou was overly busy blocking off the pursuers, Tsukomata Kana would find an entirely different kind of scene before her. The door at the end of the tunnel had led them outside the building, right into an area of fresh night air. The scenery should have been that of your average barely lit back alley, ignoring the current ongoings. A heavy metallic thud would greet their ears, as someone collapsed onto the ground.

It was someone clad in a red evening dress, elegant, putting accent on the girl’s female curves and an ideal fit to high heels. Yet instead of high heels the person wore the kind of sneakers usually worn by basketball players. And if that wasn’t a bad match, the grey bullet proof vest they wore on top of the dress would surely bring the point home. Yet even that wouldn’t be the most remarkable feature. After all, what should have been the head, was a large round ball like object, granted the features of an owl, yet hardly realistic. A mascot’s mask.

Yet what should have been a perfect round shape was disrupted by a deep recess, born from a seemingly heavy impact. At its center the brown and white of the owl’s face was tainted by a dark deep red tone. Blood.

There were two other figures. Boys, brutish, clad in shabby clothing, greasy pompadours on their heads, the typical delinquents from all looks. Only a tad more severe in presence.

One held a metal baseball bat, the other wore brass knuckles on both hands.

The bat was covered in blood, forming a perfect fit for the dent.

«Having fun?»

Spitting his question in utterly disgusting intonation, the one with the brass knuckles bent down as his tongue rolled across his lips.

In response the beaten owl girl only writhed in pain. Something which was rewarded by a series of cruel blows.

Beyond that the alley was nearly empty. Garbage cans here, bags of trash there, some boxes spread about and a forgotten bicycle elsewhere. There was a set of fire stairs attached to one of the buildings. The main street was a bit further away, yet even then there seemed to be quite some commotion, loud enough to even reach into the otherwise tranquil while blocking off any of the alley’s events from reaching outside.

If she’d tilt her head a bit and search, Kana would find the panicky pink haired gothic lolita stage idol cowering behind a larger dumpster. A position not visible for the violent thugs.

Tossing aside the remains of the chair with grin, Natsuki prepared himself to dance away from his assailants. Brutish and well-prepared, these two thugs could easily overpower him if he let them... But Natsuki's mind raced with different ideas, such as further involving the unwilling crowd behind him and making use of the floor now slicked with toppled drinks. Even in such chaos, his experience lent him confidence, allowing him to goad these two into a trap where he might had otherwise been overwhelmed. The grin on his face showed the world how much he was enjoying this situation. It was thrilling, to have such bad odds and be confident you could overturn them.

Before he could play out his next move, however, he glimpsed the men in the back leveling their firearms at him, their unmistakable stance registering in Natsuki's mind. It shocked him, twisting his confident smirk into a grim poker face. Where Natsuki had naively believed they would limit their guns to just attracting attention, these men were out for blood; and judging from how they were aiming into the backs of their comrades and a crowd of bystanders behind him, they didn't care who's blood it was they spilled. With only enough time to curse, "You idiot!!", Natsuki stepped forwards, provoking a two-handed, devastating swing from the attacker, but turned his body low, into a sudden sweep. The slicked floors he had noted before amplified the effect, allowing Natsuki to sweep out the assailant in-front of him, taking him down just in time, as the blasts of gunfire rang through the room once more, bullets passing through where they had been standing. The gunfire was met by fresh screams arising from the crowd behind him, as they were sent into a panic.

In his mind, he knew he had to get to one side or another, perhaps under that table or to that counter; Natsuki's eyes rapidly scanned for cover, his body almost instinctively preparing to throw itself to it's side... However the yells of the helpless, the confused, and desperate behind him froze Natsuki in place, forcing him forwards, towards the gunmen and the remaining assailant with the bat. He knew, they would shoot him now. Or the bat would crash through the side of his body or his head, and it would be over. But if he were somehow still standing, he knew he had to stop them, immediately. There was no running or hiding from this. Was he even breathing? Time seemed to slow as he pushed forwards, and he saw it, the bright flash from the guns to greet him. It was over.

Or it should have been. Natsuki's foolhardy rush delivered his fist to the unprotected stomach of the bat wielding assailant, the full force of the blow aiming to knock the air out of him. What's going on? How? What Natsuki had mistaken as the flash from muzzles was, in fact fire. Natsuki stood, confused, sweeping his vision carefully, his fists still raised, taking in the situation far more cautiously than he should have been. The attackers were screaming, panicked and disorganized, their heads ablaze. It had been this sudden turn of events that had stayed the gunmen, distracted the thug with the bat, and had ultimately saved Natsuki's life twice or thrice over. An esper's power; how ironic. He would have been disgusted at the wanton use of power, but he knew these men were far worse than whomever had set them ablaze. It was clear that at least for now, he and the unseen esper user were on the same side.

Sudden gunfire and a shredding blast of glass shrapnel from a bottle only inches to his right freed Natsuki from his petrification; It cut him across his face and his exposed upper right arm, as he twisted away from the gunfire. Still?! They still wanted to do this?! Looking towards the gunfire, Natsuki saw the two, emptying their weapons in a panic, swept up in the violence, chaos and bloodshed. Without further hesitation, Natsuki kicked the bat by his feet into his hands, adjusted his grip, and took a running swing at the man with the sub-machine gun, seeking to smash the bat into his arms. It would make him a clear target to the man with the pistol, but Natsuki could only hope his "savior" was still watching, and had his back.

With a slight wince at the sound of the terrified masses screaming to help themselves scatter to safety, Natsumi could tell these wanna-be terrorists had gone past the line of reasonable. Whoever it was they were asking for, those actions put them well past the idea of a troubled group with a goal and further down the mindless criminal part.

And if that were the case, then there would be no reason to hold back against anyone who wasn't someone who'd just chosen a poor path to deal with a possibly important problem. It was, however, very hard to act in turn within this frenzied crowd that was thankfully hiding most of her features but still restraining her range of movement considerably. Natsumi figured that trying to fight against it would only bring attention to her.

As such, she followed along until she could reach an ideal hiding spot well within any firing range: the stage's simplistic framework that, despite its rather smaller size than large concert halls, still would have enough place to welcome a small individual like herself.

Once she had managed to hide herself in a rather efficient manner amongst the mess that had been once a lively party, Natsumi took another glance at the terrorists she could barely make out from the distance beyond the crowd. It seemed the monkey-like idiot had decided against any better judgement to not back off, and perhaps that baiting possibility was for the best.

Because his mindlessly charging ahead, aiming to disarm an enemy with rather impressive weaponry, gave her the exact opportunity to call forth three fireballs: two above the head of the submachine gun owner, and one above the head of the pistol owner...

As Tsukomata and Touko were about to head out, behind them were footsteps. Kana turned her head to look at what was coming, and to try to understand the situation at hand, however before she even got a good luck she found herself being pulled away. She too understood that the situation did read danger so she wasn't going to second guess Touko's lead, and did her best to try to keep up while being dragged along.

After exiting the building she noticed Touko was going to try to barricade the door. She wasn't sure how easy it really would be to stop them from just breaking the door, but upon glancing around the area she found that she had something else to worry about. As a metal clang rang out from someone falling to the ground. The one who fell wearing all sorts of poorly matching clothes, but she didn't have time to worry about their fashion, who they were, or even what they wanted for the moment. They were under attack by the most ordinary of violent delinquents as far as she could tell.

Rather than take additional time to scan the area she began to concentrate on her power, which could give her additional information, such as whether more of them might be moving around in the area. Very quickly she did notice the movement of someone behind the dumpster, seemingly, based on the way they were slightly moving, probably trying to stay hidden, she glanced that way, only to see the idol there, but she took no more of her time after verifying that.

"I'm going to have to ask you guys to step back, and cease your current behavior, if you know what is best for you."

It may've been better to simply attack them immediately, but she'd rather simply get them to quit if she could. However, she figured they'd never simply listen to her so simply. Unfortunately her bag full of her usual items for many situations, including but not limited to combat scenarios was left inside along with Natsuki where she had been sitting before, so she would have to simply make do with what they had in the environment. She lifted up two of the garbage cans with her ability and tilted them towards the two thugs. Usually most would fold under such a situation, but she had rarely seen some who would actually challenge her. Based on the fact that they had weapons, she was assuming they had no powers of their own, but even Natsuki and his men still tried to fight despite that.

"If you want to come out of this uninjured, I wouldn't suggest you mess with me right now."

She figured Touko would be done with the door soon, but figured she might already understand the situation if she just looked and heard, but she wasn't sure if Touko was able to hold her own in a fight. She was prepared to have to protect Touko if it comes to it.

«Yeah yeah, life's a bitch. So what.»

Deflected. Crushed. Kicked 20 yards into the distance. The boy’s attempt to somehow wriggle himself out of the situation had met exactly that fate, when meeting the rock hard front of the back alley business tycoon.

She wasn’t friendly. She wasn’t caring. If at all, she was pissed even more.

Her expression and body language would be enough to reach that point of understanding. However, if that wouldn’t suffice then most certainly her words would deliver the news in their entirety.

«Look, I’m running a business here. If customers get endangered for reasons they’re not aware of, since they’re not humanly possible, or even worse the main attraction gets damaged, or even worser someone dies, they’ll not only want a refund, they’ll fucking sue you. And guess what? That fucking sucks.»

Merciless to the core, the blond delinquent would slowly lower the tube she had been carrying around to the ground, stepping back and forth in circles around the boy, causing more and more of that annoying clunking sound of the metal plates underneath her boots hitting the asphalt. With how little he could do and how close he was to the ground, it would most certainly end up growing into an even greater annoyance. Something she would most certainly appreciate. Odd cases, odd reasons, odd methods of torture. The perfect triple!

«Now why should I free you? What exactly do I gain from that? You know those security blobs are pretty pricey. Wasting three on one round pretty much blows all calculations. The win-loss ratio will suffer heavily from that and by that the BEP will move way faaarther. Which is bad. I mean, that’s pretty bad for any business, you fuck. So. Again. What Exactly. Does. Freeing You. Earn Me?»

A devil through and through, wasn’t she? There was no smile on her lips, just those vicious eyes of a carnivore shining right at him, as she once again bent her upper body to allow for their glances to collide. Or rather his being overwhelmed by hers.

So what? Yeah, that about sums it up. Jin would laugh at it all if he weren't the one on the receiving end. As it were, he was just about ready to cough up blood- In a figurative manner of speaking. Tentatively, Jin tried struggling against his restraints some more. No luck, but it never hurts to try. Maybe this is some kind of crap that weakens over time.

Of course, as long as that girl is still standing over him, he'd just be trussed right back up. As far as plans go, this one was a total F.

Fortunately, she was being forthcoming with what she wanted- So long as freeing him was in her best interests, she would. The question was, what could he possibly offer, that she would want? Regardless of whether or not he could even make good on it. It just needed to seem like he could, no? Just needed to be freed...

He clenched his jaw as he ran through options. Now was not the time to be a smart-ass.

Which meant he wasn't going to pull some shit like acting all self-important and implying that freeing him was in and of itself a reward. Or asking if she knows who his father is. Or otherwise trying to weasel out of this. Nobody likes a weasel.

Which meant it was bullshitting time.

"Midg... I mean, MissFits. Ever hear of them?"

A heavy swing hit the guy with the SMG’s arms, heavily enough to make them numb and force him to drop the weapon. At the same time his friend, who no longer had any control over his own actions found a fireball raining down upon him. The same scenario for both of them. They screamed, shouted and panicked even further. However this time not without dropping their weapons and collapsing to the ground.

The pain was unending. It was cruel. Frightening. Impossible to claim reign over.

Kitani Ringo witnessed it, yet couldn’t help it, was he currently attempting to weasel himself through the area. He had seen his other comrades collapse in a tantrum of panic as well and he had seen that there was hardly anything he could do without taking their strongest adversary, that Esper, out. But how?

He may have had the looks of a dumb thug. He may have had the body of brute. And he may have been someone who acted first and placed actual thought later. However, he also was not stupid.

He had kept eye over the area and noticed someone among the crowds, in all too familiar uniform – one all of his comrades held unimaginable grudges over – escape into the back, slipping away from the action. He only caught a short glimpse of it, but it seemed as though they had found the most ideal hiding spot among ideal hiding spots. Crouching down and seeking cover underneath the stage. An area too small for most to reach, yet not for everyone. From there, they would both obtain safety from the gun fire and the thugs, as well as still keeping the chance to overview everything, even if slightly limited.

While one of his friends who had finally undone extinguished the fire on his head, would come charging at the monkey man with the finesse and drive of a football player to perform the act of tackling them over, Kitani would continue his sneaky path, making it around the panicky establishment, using tables, chairs and counters as cover until he would reach the stage.

He couldn’t follow his target under the stage, though, as his mass was way too great to make it. That didn’t mean he had no chance to harm them, though. He’d move onto the stage, quickly picking a portion of the equipment, one of the speakers that were part of the sound system. Freeing it from its constraints, basically tearing it from the wall, he’d start to fumble around with its cables and settings, before he would press it against the stage’s floor in overly hurried manner.

Then he would strike.

By turning all settings to the highest degree and loosening the cables, he would in the next instance produce a disturbing noise, taking the shape of the bass’ heavy hammering. Due to the box not only being professional equipment but high tech Academy City technology and set to the highest possible level, the output would transform into a powerful kind of shockwave, blasting through the stage into the hollow compartment underneath. He was hoping for the waves to be reflected and refracted by the ground, the walls and the stage up above yet again in order to have them transform the small chamber into a hell of beats, hammering down upon to girl from all sides, placing a strong pressure upon her, not only on her frail physique, but also on her ear drums, aiming to bring as much ruin as applicable.

The question was who would hold out longer? She, with her frail middle school girl body being hammered down upon from all sides? Or he, the muscle packed brute using his full strength to press down the box, placing him right at the epicentre of it all?


«I’m going to have to ask you guys to step back, and cease your current behavior, if you know what is best for you. If you want to come out of this uninjured, I wouldn't suggest you mess with me right now.»

The two pompadour thugs averted their eyes to greet the sudden intruder. To them she only appeared a as girl, a cute one, a lovely, yet one wearing the insignia of something that’d overshadow it all. An elite. That one category that would be best to describe their natural enemy. Among Skill-Out there were many of this twisted society’s failures. Barking Wolf, however, were even the failures among them. They were so used to eating dirt, that they’d even put themselves below your average thug. You could say, they believed the difference between those pampered high class school students and them was like that between night and day, or that between heaven and hell.

Meeting the presence of the garbage cans floating in the air, neither the one with the brass knuckles who had just so casually beaten up the owl head figure, nor the one with the bat, who had striked them down, showed any signs of concern. If at all they were slowly moving past their first victim, placing focus on the second one.

«Oh ho ho. Another one! And she’s even cuter than the last one! Even more powerful!»

«Can’t wait to hear her squeaking and writhing!!»

When they endorsed themselves in that blood lusty talk, they both found themselves licking their lips as a natural reaction. Disgusting through and through.

Then without warning the one with the brass knuckles took the lead of the charge at speeds only to be described as astonishing. Running at the level of an athlete he would cross the distance in no time at all, ready to slam his metal guarded fists into stomach and face of the twin tails elite. At the same time, however, his pal would follow suit, slower, much more watchful. He was prepared to use the bat to knock away the trashcans, an act he was all too well capable of, did he have much more strength than he appeared to.

They would work as one. Brass knuckles for the merciless and quick offence, baseball bat for the secure defence. That was the full extent of Barking Wolf’s strongest combo.

However, didn’t it seem as though something, or rather someone, had escaped their attention?

A devastating swing with the bat into the man's arms assured he dropped the gun; And to keep it from being used again, Natsuki swiftly kicked it away, at random, hoping it would slide under a table or out of sight. Following that, Natsuki instinctively hopped back with his bat, putting some space between him and the man he had attacked. Though that blow would normally drop a man from sheer pain, if not permanently damage his arms, the physical prowess of these thugs was almost extraordinary, and Natsuki would have to consider them capable of a counter attack.

Thankfully, his esper ally in the crowd had covered him from the pistol user and this thug's retaliation, and this latest pyrotechnic assault afforded Natsuki a quick breather to reassess the situation. It was still chaotic, and in the fighting, Natsuki had lost sight of the attacker's leader. In terms of priorities, stopping any further indiscriminate harm was still top, but questioning the leader and teaching him a lesson, reinforcing Natsuki's own laws of the streets was a close second. Somewhere in the far back of his mind was worrying about Kana, but he trusted she could take care of getting herself to safety; It didn't even occur to him that she would be facing off with a second group in the back, and as long as he could defeat the foes in-front of him, he judged that she would be safer off.

Still, the endurance and speed at which these thugs recovered and the wild abandon of their actions was unsettling. Drugs, maybe? Or just stupid? Or pure hate? Truthfully, Natsuki too had come here tonight to crack skulls, but never indiscriminately. This is beyond hatred. To Natsuki, it felt almost desperate. An all-or-nothing assault to draw blood from their enemy... He shook his head at the thought; regardless of whether or not they succeeded tonight, they were done. If another gang didn't reign them in, Natsuki and the Under Level would see to it personally. Their reckless gamble was lost, one way or another.

Heavy footsteps, rapidly approaching from his flank shook Natsuki back to the present. These thugs were still very much in the fight, and this man was proof of their sickening resilience and desperation. Pivoting to swing his bat into the man charging him, Natsuki sent another devastating bat swing into the man's side. More than enough to fold a man in pain... But shockingly less than enough to stop this lunatic's charge. Natsuki's body still in a full swing, he could do nothing as the man tackled him with a full on bull rush, carrying him off his feet and slamming him against the bar counter. The impact of the almost gargantuan man's full force knocked the wind out of Natsuki's lungs and rattled him to the core. He almost passed out immediately. Drinks on the counter above fell to the floor with the impact, but at this point, it hardly made the place any messier.

Stunned from the blow, Natsuki could only watch as the man pulled himself back enough to wind and throw a heavy fist at Natsuki's head; and it would have pulverized his face if Natsuki had been any slower to recover. Just managing to twist his body sideways, Natsuki barely avoided the finishing blow, as it landed squarely into the counter behind him. Knowing he had no time before the next, Natsuki's scrabbling hands found the head of a bottle that had fallen from the counter above and almost instinctively lashed out with it towards the man's face, seeking to blind the man and give Natsuki time to escape. He knew that if he couldn't regain his feet, this beast of a man would overpower him and likely leave him as paste against the cheap furnishing behind him.

Though her impression of him was that of one and it would remain forever unchanged if only for his talent at underestimating non-delinquents, this leader seemed to not only be a dumb brute, and actually had a keen eye if he had managed to track her back to the gap within the stage.

It gave her a very bad feeling in regards to what would happen would she linger under there for more than necessary, as immediately after she had heard his footsteps wandering atop the stage, she could hear equipment being torn apart.

In a way, she was thankful her uncommon job had forced her to sharp her senses and general intuition of when she was in the shit or wasn't.

It was time to act, and quick.

Her petite stature had allowed her to fit into this space rather easily, but in turn it also meant she would have no difficulty leaving it. As such, she nimbly motioned herself out of the very claustrophobia-inducing gap within the stage as the man was fiddling around with the abandoned scene equipment, and confidently jumped onto the stage without any delay though while keeping a distance between them both.

“Interesting. I guess you do have a brain somewhere in there.” She quickly mocked as she took a more defensive and readied stance, bending her available arm in front of her though with the palm facing her foe.

From that palm, a flame was rapidly forming in an erratic and seemingly uncontrollable manner. It was not the typical fireball expected of a pyrokinesist, yet it was not an overly exaggerated explosion of any sorts for the fanciest out there.

Though it was certainly an explosion, in a way.

For that very petite and unremarkable explosion would give birth to a much more beautiful burst of flames to surge towards her enemy.

“But you're a shit leader if you're leaving your weakened bunch of idiots behind so easily.”

Knowing in how much trouble she would get if it were to get back to the authorities how freely she was using her ability, she violently extended her arm as if an indicator of how powerful the wave of flames should be...

It was certainly not what she had expected. Kana had assumed the display of her power would send the thugs running with their tail between their legs. However she figured even if they were particularly stupid or perhaps brave they would still be intimidated, however it seemed that they simply didn't care, walking even closer towards her. It was more than just a surprise to her, though, she actually felt somewhat pressured. Normally if someone is not afraid of a situation like this, or worse, not even concerned about the situation, it would be because they have confidence in their ability to handle it. Was her power something that they could simply deal with? She had hoped to resolve it would just a display, but it looked like she had initiated a fight now. However Kana was more than ready to confront them. She didn't even have a choice at this point.

The thug with the brass knuckles began to ran towards her, far faster than she had initially expected, however with her spatial sensing, it was much easier to react to it, and calmly react to his speed. The pressure against her power allowing her to feel the change in his coordinates. A much more reliably way to react than simply relying on her eyes alone. However she was in a bad spot. If she had her bag this kind of situation would be much easier to handle, but with only what she had on hand it might be tough. To begin with she forced in the two trash cans towards the thug in the front, only to find that they were intercepted by the one following behind with the bat. They were absolutely beyond her expectations. Kana couldn't hide her surprise at how easily her attack was halted, but she had to act fast before they were to get to her. If they actually closed the gap before she acted she would be in trouble.

"Kamijou-san, it's going to be dangerous, try to get away!" She tried to shout back to alert Touko if she hadn't already realized.

She had no choice but to try to use her power directly against them with no objects or tools on hand, anything else would simply be too slow at this point. Focusing on the coordinates of the man with brass knuckles she try to use her telekinesis on him directly. Provided she could actually catch him, she would try to hurl him back towards his own ally. Regardless of whether she were successful she would begin to back up and try to reposition herself.

«The MissFits?»

Like the wolf she was, the girl had her ears sharpened immediately at the drop of that name. While her poker face wouldn’t falter, that tiny slip had turned out unavoidable.

«Go on.»

Cold as any business professional in face of a negotiation she urged the boy to continue talking, after all he had only just dropped a name, not any truly significant information. And if there was one thing anyone in any kind of business knew, it was the lesson that you should never open up too much before everything is on the table. Only under that condition she would possibly move.

However, this was his chance. What would he make of it, though?


Kitani Ringo and his thugs had long since lost any awareness of the situation, had their originally overwhelming attack quite well turned towards the opposite. While the remains of his eight goons were struggling to somehow take down a single individual, he was occupied with a target of his own.

The girl would crawl up from underneath the stage, just as he had grabbed hold of the now no longer useful subwoofer, ruining his plan for a counter attack altogether. However it couldn’t be helped and it most certainly had him surprised.

Her comeback had come way too quickly, with too much excellence to boot.

«Interesting. I guess you do have a brain somewhere in there.»

Hearing the cockiness of her words, his expression was one of little amusement.

Before he could set off into his next charge, though, something else occurred. Lifting her hand just like that, she announced the incoming attack. An attack that would take shape just the next instance. Unable to classify her strength from the guerrilla attacks from before, he found himself confronted with a black box quickly turned into an overwhelming strike. A sweep by all definitions of the book.

His eyes would widen, as the storm of flames would come for him with merciless speed.

«But you're a shit leader if you're leaving your weakened bunch of idiots behind so easily.»

«You gotta stand on your own feet if you wanna survive in this world. That’s the law of the wolves!»

Facing off against the torrent of destruction, he didn’t step aside, tried to escape or in any other way save his own ass. Yet, he didn’t do nothing either. Discarding the hope of making it out here unscathed, he was at least determined enough to strike back right where he stood. Quickly mustering the full extent of his beastly strength, he would toss the heavy item in his hands right towards the incoming storm.

It wouldn’t stop it. It wouldn’t change the outcome. As it was, the heavyweight projectile would be scathed, roasted and pass through just like this. And then it would fly straight for the girl at the origin of the attack. Kitani Ringo would be roasted in the mean time, yet she wouldn’t escape for good either. With his last leap of faith, he would bombard her with the heavy machinery he was so eager on using against her.

Fast, powerful and entirely unexpected. If she wouldn’t react quickly enough, just like him she would be crushed.


That monkey idiot was a tough serve. The entirety of Barking Wolf’s squad had been too occupied with him to mind their leader’s fate. They would come rushing at him and somehow be crushed by him in return. As Fudou Natsuki was tackled against the counter by one of the thugs, he immediately defended himself performing an act to blind the attacker using a bottle he’d grabbed from the ground. It worked, causing pompadour thug #4 to be startled. Enough of an opening to slip away. Or so he thought.

Quickly, right at the perfect moment to get him wide open, another thug (#5) came rushing in from the sidelines. Relentless just like any of the Barking Wolf members, he wouldn’t allow for the opportunity to go to waste, swinging a crowbar with full force. A blow that, given the wide open condition of his enemy and the strength put behind it, would most certainly turn out lethal.

However it would never connect.

«Showtime.»

The instance before the end of it all, the delinquent was sent flying through the air. Not for nothing, of course, was there a pair of boots kissing his face. He flew and collided with tables and chairs, before passing out for good.

«What a sucker. If you wanna surprise someone, you gotta watch out not to be surprised yourself.»

Landing on his feet, a newcomer announced his presence.

Clad in a mixture of blacks and browns of all kinds of leather, he had the vibes of the typical 80s movie protagonist. Given that his attire consisted solely of clothing associated with bikers, that was hardly odd to begin with. However what made it a tad odder was the metal guards he wore on knees and elbows paired with the cartridge belt around his hip. Yet while normally such a belt would contain real cartridges this particular one seemed to be solely occupied by other kinds of plastic tubes, reminiscent of a certain super hero’s equipment belt.

But that wasn’t the real oddity either. Nor was it his bleached hair, but close.

The dangerous, slightly mad spark of his eyes was lingering behind the blackness of a mask, shaped after the image of a skull. It only covered the upper half of his face, leaving his wide, tooth strong grin for everyone to enjoy.

Being slender, young and your typical Japanese high school student from the get-up, yet equipped like some overly heroic action hero, he had the flair of a madman. Something further accentuated by his actions.
«Just a second, please. I think someone’s out for more.»

His eyes meeting those of the monkey boy he had just saved, the boy would suddenly duck, only closely escaping a fist originally aimed for the back of his head, immediately turning, casually swiping the legs of the assailant with his own, then jumping on top of them with his iron plated elbow up front, he would end the performance by knocking them out cold in a single go.

«Siiigh. When do they learn it? When do they?»

Stretching his limbs, he would return to his legs, once more seeking out the eyes of the other, waving with his gloved hand.

«Hi~!»

Viciously slashing across the brute's face with his bottle, Natsuki earned himself an opening as his opponent reeled back. Natsuki wasn't surprised to find his stance was shaky as he climbed to his feet; in fact, he was more surprised he could manage to pull himself up after being slammed against the counter and almost getting his brains bashed out a second ago. So staggered, Natsuki didn't even realize his peril until after he had been saved.

«Showtime.»

A confident boast followed by a full force dropkick slamming into his assailant's head, stopping short the executioner's axe. How many times does that make it tonight? Twice? Three times? Again, Natsuki was spared by an unknown benefactor.

«What a sucker. If you wanna surprise someone, you gotta watch out not to be surprised yourself.»

Ugh, what the hell... A mix of wariness and disgust played along Natsuki's features as he inspected the black-masked man's garb. Some sort of vigilante or ... Just someone looking for a fight? If he's this confident, his esper power could be pretty strong... And if he's prepped a get-up like this, he's probably used to coming out for fights... Natsuki was quick to suspect and even quicker to judge, labeling this newcomer into a most unpleasant, and likely undeserving category. Esper elites like the girl from before or Kana are one thing, they just mistakenly think themselves greater than others because the system has inflated their ego... Teachers and other students, their parents, even other level 0's are taught to adore and admire them, filling their heads with false notions of their inflated worth... These kinds, though... Natsuki thought to himself warily. They need none of that shit. They don't buy it, they don't sell it. They only seek to prove it to themselves by fighting. Letting loose with their powers against the powerless. Junkies looking for a fight every night and getting high off their wins. In the end, just another excuse to abuse their powers... Disgusting.

Natsuki gave a dry, forced smile, twisting his inner disgust into a more understandable expression of his injuries, as he exaggeratedly checked his ribs and cuts along his arms and face. Confusing new turns of events like these were exactly the moments when Natsuki would need to maintain his composure. A loose cannon, this guy might be, but for now, it was aimed in the right direction, so he would play up the fact that he was injured and that he had been helped. "Thanks for the hand... Kozou (youngster)." Natsuki guessed that he was likely this guy's elder, and if so, respect amongst them would have been strange.

At this point Natsuki noticed his previous assailant had climbed to his feet to attack this masked hero from behind... And decided not to loose even the slightest warning, carefully keeping his eyes in contact with this newcomer. Ideally, he'd get to see the boy's power when attacked from behind, or even confirm if this boy was the same pyromaniac that had aided him earlier but... That optimism was quashed immediately afterwards with a sweep and an elbow.

«Siiigh. When do they learn it? When do they?»

Standing over Natsuki's leftovers, the boy spouted another cocky line that made Natsuki want to hurl his own punch... But no, not right now; Natsuki would reply, "They say idiocy can't be cured. And if it's still rampant at Academy City, you know there's no hope for it anywhere." After a dry laugh, Natsuki would confirm only quickly that all of the thugs were down and that the path was clear for the concerned to leave. He would then close the distance between himself and the masked idiot and stretched his right hand out towards him for a handshake and an almost friendly smile. "Natsuki. And who are you supposed to be?" Should the boy return his handshake, Natsuki would be sure to hang onto it with force until he finished this next question, but regardless, he would continue, "A mask. I believe they were looking for someone that matches your description. The Missfits. Coming here dressed like that, you're not going to tell me you don't know of them, are you?"

Disengaging a moment to give the guy a chance to respond, Natsuki would step away and act like he was surveying the area for the status of the thugs when in reality, he was noting the location of their firearms and other weapons. Based on the boy's reaction, Natsuki might want for them soon. He continued in an even tone as he did so, "So tell me, what's going on. The hell was that." Natsuki said, pointing a finger towards the last thug they had downed. "And the hell do you have to do with it?"

A small bit of telekinesis was nothing to fear. They had the looks of thugs, the brains of thugs, and the natures of bloodthirsty brutes, but they were still undoubtedly members of Skill-Out. Their disdain for the elites, the successful who looked down on them from on high was absolute. And as such, their experience in crushing that shallow pride of theirs was as well.

They had already displayed their physical skills and coordination, honed not within sterile classrooms but in the dirty back alleys of the city, but the threat they posed did not end there. Even if nothing but bloodlust ran through their heads, it was worth remembering what that had bloodlust had been sharpened with such dedication for.

Simply put, even the most mindless of predators had one thing in common: the capacity to ruthlessly seize upon their prey's weaknesses.

"Groooooaaaah!!!"

At the very instant that the brass knuckled pompadour began to show signs of being pushed back, his partner took the initiative to rush forth with a bestial exertion and add his weight to his fellow's charge. As a rule, espers with abilities similar to telekinesis had various limits to what they were capable of, such as what materials they could manipulate, how long, and from what range. But more than any of those, the most damning limitation was none other than sheer mass.

Against such espers, the method to counter them was childishly simple: crush them with more weight than they could handle. If the baseball bat thug had been any later in his charge, then it may have come too late. But the experiences that had gathered the members of Barking Wolf told them precisely what needed to be done. Perhaps she could shove back one body, but what about two?

If, despite all that, the girl was able still to repel them, then they were done for. Unable to resist, they would be tossed about like rag dolls. Toyed with by what they despised most and losing what little dignity they had left. But espers of such power were rare, and the fact that she'd begun with trash cans rather than just tossing them about was more than telling.

Grinning like rabid dogs, they eagerly anticipated what would happen next. In their eyes, their victory was already set in stone. Greed and desire dominated their vision, little else mattering. Blinded to their surroundings, this was a chance for what seemed to them to be a perfect win to become subject to an utter reversal.

ーYet, the limitations of their abilities were not the only weaknesses of espers that they seized upon.

"Kamijou-san, it's going to be dangerous, try to get away!"

A brief instant of surprise and panic crossed over them. Yes, thinking about it, there had been another girl in addition to the one before them, but she had been so plain that in their excitement over the fresh meat in front of them she had been forgotten. If, say, she had taken that chance to circle around them and take one of the pair by surprise, they could have been caught completely off guard. Their advantage would crumble.

...Which is why they grinned so brightly at their quarry's naivete.

As he shoved his partner against and out of the telekinetic push, the baseball bat pompadour quickly scanned their surroundings for the plain, plain, plain spiky-haired girl. If she had already fled then they would ignore her, but if she was still present, and even better if she was trying something... If that was the case, the menu had suddenly expanded.

The esper before their eyes still commanding their priority, they would continue to move forward as a pair in order to crush her resistance, but no longer were their rears vulnerable. Vision clear, they were prepared to crush any half-assed heroes that came their way.

«You gotta stand on your own feet if you wanna survive in this world. That’s the law of the wolves!»

With a large sigh visibly bothered by all these motivational rules of the thug world, Natsumi carefully eyed the one she was in the process of subduing, and so his “surprise attack” wasn't much one but a “desperate last tentative”. The weight of the projectile alone was at his disadvantage, for if he had a knife or anything else, Natsumi wouldn't have been able to avaoid it.

But as things were, it was impossible even for the heaviest of bodybuilders to be able to throw a surprise projectile of that weight rapidly and with enough force to be inescapable when having suffered injuries and still in the midst of the receiving end of the fight. Natsumi merely hopped aside in enough of a large jump to let the makeshift weapon pass through her old position and crash into the floor below the stage. It must've left visible damage, she reckoned, due to the sound it'd produced upon landing.

«Siiigh. When do they learn it? When do they?»

She thought she had heard a new voice; one that hadn't been here before. While the fire attacks didn't stop, some barely grazing him and others mainly hitting non-vital point, Natsumi decided it was time to wrap it in case this was an additional enemy.

“I'm going to have you take a little nap here. Don't worry, I'll make sure you get turned in afterwards.” Taking a somewhat very short running start as she stated this, she closed the distance between the two of them in enough time for the fiery projectiles to cease, came to a grinding halt...

And aimed for as powerful a kick at his head as her rather petite physique would allow, only assisted by the heavily makeshift momentum she had mustered up...

The masked boy’s toothy grin wouldn’t wane, not in the face of the scruffy boy’s comment, neither when he was offered a handshake. A request he would naturally follow with flippant eagerness driving his movements, of course grinning like a mad man.

«Name’s Izumii! Well, they call me VP or something, but eeeee~h you can call me by that name, pal.»

Gloved hand, strong handshake, friendly speech, yet the biting stench of heavily overdosed after-shave lingering in the air.

He was an odd character, no matter how you looked at it. His hair orange, a black skull mask on his face, an obvious affection towards mindless violence, but in the end still overly friendly, up to a point where it could very well be classified as scary or out of character. Then again what was he even supposed to be?

«A mask. I believe they were looking for someone that matches your description. The Missfits. Coming here dressed like that, you're not going to tell me you don't know of them, are you?»

«’course I do. I mean I’m their VP. The Vice President. The second in command. They’re my gang basically, y’know.»

Keeping up the eye contact, handshake and smile, the boy called Izumii didn’t hesitate to drop the bomb just like that. It was hard to read his mind; figuring out Natsuki’s intention and position, however, wasn’t that difficult. He likely knew. No, he could tell very well. A look into his eyes would reveal that, while his stature and body language still remained as relaxed as ever.

He was odd. Weird. Out of place. Entirely secluded form any common sense.

«Those guys were Barking Wolf…I guess? A pretty garsty Skill-Out gang. Apparently some of our guys pulled a prank on ‘em and then their leader flipped his shit, gathered his men and chased us all over the city until he found this place, knowing there’s some of our regulars hanging out here. Never saw a headhunt of that scale coming, but damn that turned out bad.»

The jolly tone of his voice sunk for the sake of shedding at least a fair bit of compassion towards the victims.

«Never expected them to be this cruel, either. I mean you don’t start shooting people just because of a little prank, do you? So when I heard they were looking for us and by those means, I just couldn’t help it and went ahead to take care of it myself. Y’know kicking asses of assholes is necessary sometimes. Especially if they’re that kind.»

Tilting his head in boyish manner, the masked man in leather clothes would seek out something fairly secluded from your average thugs or the rifles and guns spread all over. What he sought was something else. Someone else.

«So where’s that bastard Kitani?»


Kitani Ringo’s body was wasted. Having mustered the strength to take a flame shower straight on, he would feel the downside of that idea just a moment later. It hurt. It hurt beyond anything he’d felt before. Being cut, shot or have your bones smashed was hardly anything if you compared it to an intense bath in flames. Even with the tensest muscles or strong will there was no enduring this.

Eventually, he found himself unable to stand up properly, lightly falling onto his left knee for the sake of supporting an upright position. He was breathing steadily, eying forward.

Only to be disappointed.

The girl was still standing, unscathed. Yet even after the flames seized she didn’t leave it at that.

She came towards him with quick steps, a charge of the first order.

Under any circumstance it would have been an utterly stupid action to perform, given their physical differences. She seemed frail and weak while he was bulky and strong. Yet, none of it mattered.

He would have spouted more arrogant nonsense, would have bragged of how stupid her attempt was. But he couldn’t.

He couldn’t do anything. His muscles weren’t moving. His body wasn’t anymore. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. It was too strong. He was succumbing to it.

He was wasted.

And thus the kick hit.

«Oouuuuch…!»

Carrying the weight of the impact, the masked post apocalyptic rider Izumii’s comment would be all to signify Kitani’s eventual fall. That beast of a man had collapsed right where he had been, obviously lead by that conclusive kick.

That was it.

It was finally over.

Thus, except for the three who were still standing, the entire establishment had lost its life. The guests had cleared the field, the remains were either the leftover furniture, broken and battered as it was, or the numerous collapsed thugs.


«Kamijou-san, it's going to be dangerous, try to get away!»

That had been her signal. Half-assed hero Kamijou Touko would enter the stage, finally done with assuring the door’s definite closure!

Before any of these pompadour monsters could even react or make her out, she would make her presence known by her own means. Yet, neither by charging in with her right fist ready to rumble, nor by making sure to hurry away in the most awkward fast legged manner applicable.

Instead she would attack by striking for their weak spot.

Not having any (useful) power, she would simply go with whatever she had at hand. The thugs both were fairly strong, likely much more than she could handle with her limited prowess in street fights. She could take some thugs on, like two, yet not more than three. However this very situation and those two were likely out of her league entirely.

Did she need to, though?

When one of them tried to check the area, he would find something approach at high pace. A cylinder of metal, a trashcan like those found anywhere around. Its charge was definite and as it kept rolling and rolling, it would collide with the two just a moment later, hitting their legs, ruining their balance, ending their mindless charge.

But it wouldn’t be left at just that.

The very moment their balance would shatter, another attack was meant to follow.

Putting her all into her legs, the spiky haired girl came running, shouting from the top of her lungs. She would pull her arm back, form a fist and then slam it into the baseball bat pompadour guy’s face with full charge, aiming to transfer both the full strength of her muscles and the momentum of her charge right into his wide open nose.

An all or nothing attack to finally turn the tides.