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[img]http://i.imgur.com/6J0gaIn.png[/img]
[h3][color=f49ac2]Nori Azami[/color] & [color=b16edd]Reina Mori[/color][/h3]
[sub][i]Collaboration with [@addamas][/i][/sub]
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[SUB][url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQFxlVIH5Ik]BGM[/url][/SUB]
Nori's laughter took Reina by surprise, and her natural reaction was to glance at the other girl with sheepish confusion; as though she assumed she had said something stupid to garner the reaction, but didn't know exactly what. Had she really already made a fool of herself in front of her group?

When she saw Nori's expression, however, the unpleasant doubt she felt dissipated--the smile the girl wore was bright and comforting, and it made Reina notice how nice her laugh was to listen to. Her speaking voice, as well; it was confident, and composed, and--

Reina caught herself. Why... was she thinking so much about Nori? Why was she noticing so much about her on their first meeting? Why did she find herself really wanting to spend more time around her?

The black-haired girl felt her cheeks reddening as she dwelled on the implications of her thoughts.

[i][color=b16edd]Enough. You're stupid. That's not--[/color][/i]

Nori addressed Reina, saving her from her inner voice. [color=f49ac2]"Your plan to rig the votes would’ve been a good one if you actually knew someone here, let alone everyone.”[/color]

Reina looked to the girl, considering her words for a moment before giving a sheepish smile as she scratched at her cheek. Nori was right--to do that she'd have to get everyone on board with the idea, and Reina wasn't exactly adept at speaking, especially to people she didn't even know the names of. She thought it over some more, realizing there was an element of trust needed for the plan as well; if anyone didn't like it, they could simply vote for anyone that already had one vote against them. Doing so probably wouldn't make the person very popular with the rest of the kids, but it [i]was[/i] another flaw in the idea.

[color=f49ac2]“I’m not gonna vote on you, I’m not even gonna vote at all. I haven’t even seen anyone’s capabilities yet, so I don’t want to, it’s easy really,”[/color] Nori said.

Reina nodded in agreement, wearing her own faint smile. Her eyes widened slightly and she tensed up as she suddenly noticed Nori taking confident steps towards her. Her instincts told her to move away, though she managed to fight against the natural reaction and stop herself.

If it had been anyone else approaching her, she [i]would[/i] have taken a few quick steps back due to her quirk... but she didn't have to do that around Nori, as was made evident by the increase in the strength of the girl's breeze against her. It was the first time Reina had ever had someone stand so close to her and appear completely unaffected by her quirk; it was a strange thing for her to experience. The realization took Reina by surprise--somehow, it felt significant in some way. All she could do was meet Nori's close gaze, struck by a measure of quiet awe by the whole situation. She tried to keep her mind from focusing on exactly [i]how[/i] close Nori was to her, but she still felt her cheeks and ears slowly flushing pink.

[color=f49ac2]“I challenge you to a game."[/color]

With her heart beating too quickly, she listened intently to Nori--her expression and tone commanded attention, but it's not like Reina wouldn't have hung on to her words if that wasn't the case. In Reina's mind, there was no refusing Nori, even before she said she wouldn't be taking no for an answer to her bet. Reina nodded quickly, as if scared that Nori would take back her words.

[color=b16edd]"O-okay,"[/color] was all she dared to say.

If Nori was trying to motivate and settle Reina's worries, she was succeeding, to say the least.

Reina's widened eyes finally began to narrow, an expression of quiet determination beginning to replace any uncertainty. She nodded slightly again, more to herself this time. The last person she wanted to see go was Nori... and, well, the promised reward was more than a little appealing. She stuck her hands back in her pockets as she did what she could to fight back the dumb smile that was trying to force itself onto her lips.
[SUB][url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLZ5gTeL5WY]BGM[/url][/SUB]
[color=b16edd]"Um, thank you, Nori,"[/color] she said with that subdued smile, glancing towards the girl. She paused before adding [color=b16edd]"I... I'll make sure you won't have to take my place."[/color]

The first step Reina could think of to not get any votes: at least [i]act[/i] like she belonged, despite whatever she may have thought of herself. She'd focus on fixing her weaknesses once she got through this.
 
That was what Nori wanted to hear, confidence and determination; Reina would turn into a formidable opponent if she kept this up, and that excited Nori.
But before she could further her interaction, Boro spoke up; he was asking for volunteers and it was the perfect opportunity for Reina to doubt herself again, so Nori instinctively looked at her.

Even before Nori's motivation, Reina had banished the thought of ousting herself. There was no chance she was going out like that now. Feeling Nori's gaze on her, she glanced over at the girl to confirm the thought, suddenly feeling a little self-conscious. Though she looked away again quickly, it was clear by her expression that Nori had nothing to worry about.

[color=b16edd]"I'm assuming he means volunteers to leave the program,"[/color] she said with a shake of her head. [color=b16edd]"I think that'd have to count as a loss for me, so... not happening."[/color] The reserved but genuine smile that Nori seemed to constantly elicit from the girl played on her lips again.

Nori couldn't help but return the smile, she was happy that Reina was taking the challenge seriously. But that Boro, he was pro-actively trying to get rid of the weak and doubtful minds without even giving them a chance to develop themselves. It was a cruel thing to do, especially after sending an invitation that gives them hope. It annoyed Nori more than she'd like to admit, enough to spiral her into action.

[color=f49ac2]"Hey Reina, Fenrir; cover your ears."[/color] Nori said softly yet a bit agitated, she inhaled deeply, closed her pores and with all her might released as much air out of the pores as she could muster. The result was a screeching whistle emitted from every part of her skin that was uncovered, and it should get everyone's attention.

Reina blinked in curiosity at Nori's command, but followed it without much hesitation--blinking again in amazement and disbelief as the loud whistling took over the noise in the room.

[color=f49ac2]"Boro! What is your problem? Aren't you supposed to be our teacher? What does it take for you to get serious? You know what, I'm annoyed by your attitude-"[/color] Nori spoke quite loudly, and in her agitated state, emotions took over as she pointed a finger towards Boro, [color=f49ac2]"I challenge you to a duel! If I lose, I instantly get all the votes, but if I win... you let everyone stay!"[/color]

Reina tensed up as the girl addressed Boro as she did. As the initial shock wore off, she found herself having to fight back a small laugh--seeing Nori getting heated was captivating. The confidence she had been demonstrating since the moment they had met shone through brightly, mixed with only [i]a little[/i] bit of endearing brashness.

Reina's quiet giggles subsided at the mention of a duel, her eyes widening as uncertainty mixed with her amused expression. While she echoed Nori's sentiments, a fight with Boro seemed like maybe not the best of ideas at the moment. Nori had very likely saved Reina from removing herself from the program, so... maybe she could manage to help the girl in return, in a smaller way.

Her hand reached out, fingers gently tugging on the base of Nori's shirt as a way to help rein the other girl in without making too much of a show out of it. She took a half-step forward, looking from the two who had volunteered themselves--a black-haired boy and a... plant-girl, judging by her voice--to Boro himself. 

[color=b16edd]"Why... are you wanting to kick some of us out already?"[/color] she asked him, managing to look him in the eyes. [color=b16edd]"Is it something Tumble asked you to do? What's the purpose of it?"[/color] The girl assumed the reason was along the lines of weeding out any who were obviously not hero-material, but it seemed unnecessarily harsh to do that so soon. They were all kids, and they were all still growing--making such quick judgments on them as they were just seemed unfair. She wanted to hear Boro's own thoughts on the whole thing... and, hopefully, distract him from getting [i]too[/i] bent out of shape about Nori's challenge.

[i][@Leotamer] [@Jabber][/i]