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[color=C0C0C0][b][h1]Flying Ace[/h1][/b][/color]
[color=0076a3][h1]Amane Kishimoto[/h1][/color][/center]
[hr]

He stared directly at Takeshi for 5 seconds, following the boys breathing pattern. To the Samurai, it seemed as though the man was sitting still but really he had already begun his attack, and before Takeshi could realize it, he had already targeted the boy’s nerves on his left arm. Takeshi watched as the others attacked around each other. It was an impressive sight to see; Amane showed his skills and knew instantly that he was related to the headmaster. He seemed extremely well trained in both Quirk ability and physical technique. But there was something off about him still…

As Master Croc spoke, confirming his own thoughts, he turned to Takeshi. Somehow Takeshi thought he was paying attention, but he felt slightly confused for a moment. Suddenly, Master Croc was in his face and already landed two attacks on him, rendering his left arm limp. His mind and body finally connected as he went to raise his blade to block the final hit.

Hatori herself was just out of the way when the pro hero decided to get...more dangerous. She almost missed it, but near instantly Master Croc dashed right in front of Takeshi before landing two solid blows onto his arm, temporarily paralyzing it. She instinctively stepped back too, simply to get out of the Croc’s range before she could think of something to do. When the pilot girl was just out of range, it seemed like Takeshi was done for, but... 

As the third blow descended there was the faintest flicker of something in the air - a momentary flash like the glint of sunlight off of metal. At the same moment, a brilliant burst of green erupted suddenly from Takeshi’s shadow as emerald sparks began to trail from flowing golden hair, a darkened visor lit up with a matching flash of light, and a voice cried out in warning.

[color=#F50A83]“Mr. Samurai, dodge to your right!”[/color]

The shimmering air suddenly seemed to condense and harden, and with a loud crash, a steel girder suddenly slammed down vertically into the pavement directly between Takeshi and Master Croc. A dull clang reverberated through the air as his finishing blow was blocked completely by this unexpected barrier, and the girder began to teeter precariously, slowly tipping backwards like a falling tree. However, in that moment, it completely cut off his view of his target, casting a long shadow backwards over the samurai’s position. In the next instant, once more, four bolts of condensed shadows streaked out from behind the pillar, aiming to bind Master Croc just like before. At the same exact moment, Takeshi himself darted out on the pillar’s right side, bringing up a strike with the flat of his blade towards his opponent’s throat, just as the girl had commanded.

With a toothy grin, the croc knew it was over for the boy…or was it? In an instant a metal beam crashed right in between the two taking the blow for the lucky guy. The sound of his claws striking the metal rang through and the pros eyes widened, where the hell did this thing come from? Last time he checked this was the suburban training grounds not the construction site. The force of his attack tipped the metal beam and obstructed his view which got the pro even more excited. He underestimated these kids but they proved to be above the average group, each showing exceptional ability and control . Soon the same bindings from earlier can out from each direction and wrapped around the girder and struck Master Croc just like earlier binding the man. He roared with laughter and enthusiasm.

[color=01796F]“Well done, well done! You saved your comrade from my nerve strike! Excellent,”[/color] Once he was binded, the Samurai didn’t hesitate to swing his sword at the croc, which slightly irritated the guy. Using the flat side of the his sword when he attacked, he was sure to make him regret it this time. Once he took the initial step and closed in, Master Croc flexed his muscles and effortlessly broke the bindings.

[color=01796F]“I told you already...to fight me for real!”[/color] The man bent his knees and moved with great speed and strength, delivering a palm strike to the boy’s chest. Such a powerful strike at the core was enough to knock the wind out of him and then some. His entire body seemed to ripple with the blow, and he was picked completely off his feet and sent flying backward, slamming into the ground a few feet away where he lay motionless, save for a slight twitch. For a moment, it almost looked like the edges of his body… no, like his shadow was flickering. Was he still trying to use his Quirk? No matter. He wasn’t getting back up again after a hit like that, so now it was time to finish the job. [color=01796F]“A tip from a pro to a trainee...when you do battle with evil. Don’t leave any openings for them. A villain will trick you with ease.”[/color]

The Croc ran quickly leapt into the air before landing over the fallen warrior. Cocking his hand back he was preparing to put the boy out of commission for the rest of the day until his snout twitched. [color=01796F][i]What the hell...he is ice cold already? I knew I didn’t kill him...[/i][/color] That was when he saw cracks on the boys face which piqued the man's interest, swinging his tail from left to right. The pro watched, engrossed as the boys body fissured from top to bottom before shattering into dust. The croc was extremely confused – this had to be some sort of ruse. But what was it? Why did his body stop emitting heat? Did he teleport? Unless… [color=01796F][i]A fake!?[/i][/color] By the time the croc knew what had transpired he was tasked with a split second decision.

With the girder suddenly appearing in front of Takeshi, it stopped his swing in its tracks with a look of sheer surprise on his face. When he heard Motome-san yell to him he didn’t hesitate, he didn’t want it to fall on him. He shifted his weight to his right foot and pivoted, his leg bent and ready to spring away. However, just before he could jump, he felt a sudden, unexpected tug on his sleeve, and turned to see Motome still standing calmly behind him. What was she thinking? The girder would topple at any second and crush both of them, and yet she simply raised a single finger in front of her in a silent “shhh,” before reaching up to push her visor up onto her forehead. As she did so, he could see that she wasn’t even looking at him, but rather around the edge of the pillar, where another of himself was already springing into action. Then… all of these things were just her projections? Did that mean they were safe from the girder? But how and why? And what was she planning?

Her grip on his sleeve loosened, then tightened as, unexpectedly, she grabbed him by his sword hand and tugged him towards her, her gloved hand wrapping around his wrist. At that instant, he could hear the ground cracking behind him as the girder completely tipped and fell down towards both of them. But Fumika simply smiled faintly beneath the collar of her romper, and without waiting for his permission, wrapped her other arm around him, and allowed herself, too, to fall backward, pulling him down with her. But as they fell, Takeshi could finally see what she was doing.

Her eyes were completely closed.

The girder fell soundlessly to the ground on top of both of them… or rather, it fell around both of them, and suddenly, all Takeshi could see was the inside of steel. And yet, the image surrounding him was completely insubstantial - merely a hologram. But, given the size of the pillar she’d dropped… Of course! From the outside, both of them lying “underneath” the image must have been completely concealed!
He couldn’t see anything, but he could still hear with perfect clarity, and as such, had no difficulty making out the breathy, nearly inaudible voice that whispered calmly in his ear.

[color=#F50A83]”A few more seconds. When he’s not looking… get him. His back is harder than anywhere else, but if we slow him down, we can win. Aim for his legs.”[/color]

Takeshi took a long slow breath through his nose. A lot had happened in only a few moments. But the fact he was now laying on top of the pretty girl was almost too much for him. He never been this close to another girl before. Even though he couldn’t see her because of her construct, he could still feel her under him with his body. He didn’t dare move incase his body would show during this, and managed to calm himself enough to hear her plan. Grateful that his face was most likely hidden from Fumika to see the redness in it. 

Meanwhile, Hatori was trying to comprehend what was happening. A metal I-beam came sliding off out of nowhere, and she quickly dodged it before it could fall down on her. Everything was happening too quickly that she didn’t even notice that Fumika and Takeshi had already hidden inside the girder, which was merely a projection. [color=C0C0C0][i]Where did that thing come from? Isn’t this a residential-[/i][/color] She stared at Takeshi’s seemingly unconscious body, and noticed something was...a bit off.

Then it suddenly hit her. [color=C0C0C0][i]Oh...I get it now![/i][/color] she grinned slightly and pulled out some more paper, promptly throwing it out as the planes came into life once more and began firing at the Croc. [color=C0C0C0][i]Good thing the Croc didn’t know about Fumika’s Quirk before...this is my chance.[/i][/color]

It didn’t take long for Master Croc to knock his clone away. His body tensed like a cat ready to pounce. He did say softly into Fumika’s ear before he jumped back into the fray. “Thanks for saving me.” 

With that he launched himself forward, his left arm still dropping to his his side, he took only a moment to get his bearings and run up behind Master Croc. However it was odd as his footsteps were silent. He spun his blade in his hand and held it in reverse grip as he raised his right arm to his face, like he was going to punch. The spine of his katana flat against his forearm, as if he was prepared to strike at eye level.

At the same time, Hatori also fired a barrage from her fleet of paper planes, hoping to distract Master Croc long enough so that Takeshi – the [i]real[/i] Takeshi – could counter-attack. She was concentrating more of her fire this time so it couldn’t just be something that the Croc could simply ignore. [color=C0C0C0]”Better pay attention, old crocs!”[/color] she taunted the pro hero. [color=C0C0C0]”Here’s your real fight!"[/color]

After the croc threw him off, Amane stood off to the side, evaluating his team a bit more while preparing another attack. Here and there the Croc would glance in the knights direction just to keep a tab on his whereabouts. Though the boy just truly wanted to gauge the group's abilities, he was curious. It seemed as though the samurai could manipulate shadows and the pilot could manipulate paper planes, though he had yet to fully figure out this Fumika’s quirk. It seemed like she could just make copies of whatever she thought of...but something felt weird. How could she make that metal beam drop out of nowhere, nearly taking out their own members in the process?

It hit him once he saw the Takeshi clone applying an erratic attack. He realized that the clone lacked fine control. Amane watched as Master Croc made quick work of the copy, sending it flying. He watched as the man prepared the finishing blow to the doppelganger when...he hesitated? This was when Takeshi came out from behind with the swift surprise attack.

As the croc turned around he was met with the samurai’s blade coming swift towards the crocs face. But, much though he’d have liked to turn fully to defend himself from the attack, his entire back was getting peppered with fire from Hatori’s miniature fleet of paper planes. If he turned, his more vulnerable front side would be completely exposed, leaving him pinned down. Which meant… he’d just have to take the incoming blow to the best of his ability, then counter when Hatori had to stop shooting to avoid friendly fire! Pivoting his reptilian foot, the man bent his knees and body as awaited for the blade to cross over his head...but the wind of the blade never made it across the mans face.

Takeshi knew that Master Croc would figure he was attacking from behind, so this was the reason he lead with the attack to the face so he would prepare for it, while leaving his real target wide open. Just as Master Croc started to crouch, Takeshi pulled his legs up. He didn't jump, nor did he try to duck; he simply just pulled his feet up and allowed gravity to bring him down as he laid back, switching his blade grip again back to normal and stabbing in between the crocs legs. 

The momentum of his forward movement caused him to slide on the ground under Master Croc, his sword placed just so he would catch the hamstring behind his knee as he slid past. He didn’t wait in his spot. As soon as he was away he got back up and spun around, aiming his blade at Croc once again. 

With a shimmer of green light, the fallen girder directly behind Croc shattered into light just as the false Takeshi had done, and a lithe form in white rose slowly from the impact crater, one arm folded over her chest and the other propped upon it, reaching up to the visor perched atop her head. [color=#F50A83]“I’m very sorry to be rude, but I think you might want to consider your own advice,”[/color] Fumika offered helpfully, her voice never rising above the respectful tone one would use to address one’s teacher. [color=#F50A83]“I mean, I didn’t mean to act like a villain, but you left an opening, so I tricked you.”[/color] She seemed… almost disappointed in herself at the comparison, and tugged at the edge of her bangs sheepishly.

Hatori, comparatively, had a visible smirk on her face, content that her quick thinking and planning had actually worked. She was sweating a bit, already using a bit of her stamina throwing planes left and right. [color=C0C0C0][i]Ha! Take that you old croc! Underestimating us was a grave mistake![/i][/color] An inner voice within Hatori exclaimed. 

[color=#F50A83]“Oh dear,”[/color] Fumika murmured, a thought suddenly seeming to strike her. [color=#F50A83]”I almost forgot to answer the test question!”[/color] Her eyes suddenly flashed once more a shade of brilliant green, and a matching arrow took form in her bangs as, standing back to back beside her, a short girl in black took form, arms folded smugly as the “duo” struck a dynamic pose. [color=#F50A83]“I’m going to be a hero in Haruka’s place. If that means that I have to win here… Then what she would do is…!”[/color] Tugging on the bridge of her visor, she pulled it down over her eyes once more, then swept forward her hand with an uncharacteristically theatrical gesture which one might almost think she’d rehearsed. [color=#F50A83]”Mr. Samurai, Hatori-san, you’ve done enough, now get back!”[/color] Ordering this final command, she braced herself against the ground, and the girl in black beside her did the same. Then, with every ounce of strength she could muster, Fumika jumped. But… right, there was one more thing that she absolutely had to do - that Haruka absolutely would have done! And that was...

[color=#F50A83]”Improvised special move: Harukaze Havoc!”[/color] As Fumika yelled out the name of her attack, the phantom in black braced, and then jumped straight up… if what she did could even be called jumping. It was more like at one moment, she was there, and at the next…

[i][b]BANG.[/b][/i]

The phantom blurred upward, disappearing into dust faster than the eye could fully make out. The pavement shattered like a sheet of glass, rubble scattering outward from the basin of the crater. In the same instant, a phenomenal wave of force slammed against the immobilized Master Croc, washing over him before rushing outward, and pushing him back with tremendous force. And what was behind him was… the lake from which he’d first emerged! Ordinarily, being knocked back would be little more than an inconvenience, but if Takeshi’s strike had done as much damage to his legs as she suspected, it would be difficult for him to move in the water. In that case, they’d have more than enough time to keep on moving towards their objective, and he’d have no way to catch up in order to stop them!

...It was around this point that Fumika realized that her strategy had been slightly…flawed. By launching herself into the air, she’d managed to avoid being struck by any of the shrapnel at ground zero, but at the same time, it meant that her body also offered next to no resistance to the massive shockwave that had expanded backwards as well as forwards. In an instant, she found herself accelerating violently in the opposite direction, much more quickly than she had anticipated. Fortunately, she clearly remembered there being a rather large hedge in that direction… But unfortunately, hitting even such an improvised cushion at high speeds was likely to be painful. She racked her brains for a solution… only to realize that suddenly, she was curving away from the hedge and… slowing down?

Hatori obliged and took several steps back, stopping her firing once more. What happened next simply astounded the flying ace as another black hair girl appeared out of nowhere and rammed Master Croc. There was no way he could be getting up to continue fighting them...for now, especially after getting hit by such a solid blow to his chest.
Needless to say, that was the coolest thing she had seen since coming to this school.

Takeshi had also moved back slightly only to be impressed with what he saw. Such power that came from this girl, it was clear that she belonged here. With her tactics and strength...despite her odd personality. He would love to spar with her later on. 

As she was falling though he quickly made his way over to catch her, but stopped almost as quickly as he noticed her slowing down and falling into Aname’s arms. He instead walked over to them now, sheathing his blade. One thing he did notice though that stuck out to him was the phantom, and her mention of Haruka. The same girl who was standing next to her with a prosthetic leg? If she only recorded things and projected them...was that perhaps her before what happened to her leg?

Fumika and the Samurai seemed to have dealt a decisive blow to the scaly creature, which colored the knight...impressed? As the debris flew towards him he simply reversed gravity, as the dirt reached inside his bubble you could see it visibly slow down to a crawl as the tiny specks traveled past Amane. Under his helmet was a crack of a smirk as the girl left a good impression on the armor clad hero. It was rather smart to put the croc in an even larger state of confusion by pulling a feint when one was already out of the loop. Like a huge mind game one would say. 

He watched as Fumika flew over towards his direction awaiting for her to enter into the radius of his gravity field in which he extended his right hand out halted the girls speedy movement. Soon Fumika would slowly float down back to earth safely right into the arms of the knight. This was his first show of heroic behavior since joining this school and he honestly felt like the girl deserved the break. Turning his head he looked straight at the ahoge of the girl which slid across his helmet as she fell into his arms. Shaking the distraction he met eye to eye with his new adversary. [color=0076a3]“Tell me your name,”[/color] he said with a stern voice.

The blonde-haired girl blinked, the concealing visor that had been covering her eyes flopping awkwardly down the bridge of her nose and revealing two surprised blue orbs which stared up at the knight in confusion. [color=#F50A83]“Umm… Motome Fumika,”[/color] she answered sheepishly. Her thoughts were still lagging behind a bit, and things had gotten fuzzy somewhere around the point where she was supposed to have crashed into the hedge. He had… saved her? And now he was carrying her like a princess. This was definitely an unusual situation, right? But even somebody like her knew that there was something you were supposed to say when a hero saved you…

...Unfortunately, she completely skipped over this step and blurted out the first thing that came to her mind.

[color=#F50A83]“Wow, you really are a knight in shining armor!”[/color] She seemed to take a moment to think about this, then reconsidered. [color=#F50A83] “Umm… That is, you obviously are a knight in shining armor, but you’re also [i]like[/i] a knight in shining armor, because you’re carrying me like a knight would... Well, at least, I think this is how knights should carry people? Fumika has- Erm, that is, I haven’t actually been carried by a knight before, so I don’t actually really know, and... Oh!”[/color] She remembered that she’d skipped a step, and reset to the beginning, trying again.

[color=#F50A83]”Thank you for saving me Mr. Knight!”[/color] She made an awkward sort of squirming gesture that might have been her attempt at a bow, but fell somewhat flat considering that she was still in a princess carry and thus couldn’t really offer much more than a slight tilting of her head which nearly dislodged her already precariously perched visor from her nose...Aad then a moment later, she herself fell flat as Amane abruptly released his hold on her, allowing her to drop squarely upon her rear, where she sat for a moment in obvious confusion.

Amane immediately regretted asking for her name as this allowed for Fumika to gather her thoughts. There was no off button either on this girl, as she babbled on about him being a knight in shining armor. Every word struck a nerve on the newly found savior as the blonde girl kept on speaking. First it was him being a knight then about her being carried in a certain way then she thanked him and did some sort of fish flop in his arms? Oh god...will she try to talk to him every day like this from now on when she sees him in the hallway? A brief daydream appeared in his head of the girl following him and telling everyone how he had saved her. No...he was just overreacting, she has no clue as to what he looks like.

That's when the idea of Fumika’s ability to motion track raced through his mind and the boy became...nervous? He who had shown nothing but pure confidence in his ability. One thing was sure he did not want this crazy girl on his case. Swiftly he took his arms from under the girl as if it was a tablecloth magic trick, he watched as Fumika hit the ground before stepping over her.

[url=https://youtu.be/H1wC6OdDDG0?t=7]“Ow,”[/url] exclaimed Fumika, her ahoge sticking bolt upright in momentary surprise. The only thing to do was walk away and never speak of this again.

Hatori promptly approached the two. There were a lot of things she was rightfully surprised about. One of it was this Haruka – why did she carry so much significance to Fumika? There was also the fact that they had just punched the lights out of a pro hero, albeit temporarily. But no, that was not what she was thinking about. [color=C0C0C0]”Holy sh-...I mean, holy smokes, that was awesome Fumi! How did you do that?”[/color] she exclaimed at the blonde haired girl. [color=C0C0C0][i]She basically just went super mode! Remind me not to get on her bad side...if she actually had one,[/i][/color] she thought, barely trying to hide the wide grin on her face. 

A vein in Takeshi’s forehead popped out when he saw Aname drop Fumika ungracefully. As Hatori came over explaining how awesome she was, which he agreed, he made his way over to Fumika and stood in front of her and bent down offering his only good hand to help her up. She fumbled with her visor for a moment, placing it back over her eyes before evidently deciding to push it back up on top of her head. It seemed to take her a moment to realize that he was offering her his hand, and even when she did notice, she hesitated for a moment before at last taking hold of it. [color=bc8dbf]”Amazing work...Fumika-chan!”[/color] he said with a warm smile.

Fumika blinked, seeming dazed. They were thanking and congratulating her, but really, all she had done was wait until they’d forced the crocodile man into a corner to strike. Hadn’t they done most of the work? But they were praising her anyway… Was it alright to talk to them like this? She wanted to thank them, but, would that be alright? They wouldn’t be mad at her, would they? But they were smiling so brightly… It kind of made her want to smile, too.

[color=#F50A83]“Oh, um, thank you very much, but…”[/color] She trailed off, her voice rising in the back of her throat as her words were drowned out by a high-pitched yawn. Her ahoge wobbled a little bit, like a miniature of her unsteady body as she seemed to teeter back and forth for a moment.  [color=#F50A83]”But…”[/color] She continued weakly, trying to press on despite how heavy her eyelids felt all of a sudden.  [color=#F50A83]”I didn’t… do anything. It was all Haruka,”[/color] She was mumbling now, and practically looked like a sleepwalker. Her bangs completely flopped back over the bridge of her nose, giving up the ghost as if standing upright in a single strand was suddenly too much work. Actually, now that they might notice it, the red “ring” that had surrounded the crown of her head had been reduced to a short mark on the edge of her bangs that was less than a fifth of its former length.

She felt so tired… She’d burned up so much of her energy in an instant, it was hard for her body to cope with the sudden exhaustion that washed over her. It took phenomenal force of will not to just pass out on the spot. But at least… at least they’d won, right? They’d…

...Won? Then why did she hear splashing in the distance?
[hr]

After getting his legs slashed the croc was off balance surely, though the attack wasn’t all too powerful. The precision he struck with was enough to buckle the pro’s knees. The whole time their full frontal attack was going on he showed a toothy grin, his chest was completely exposed and he had no strength in his legs to move. 

[color=#F50A83]”Mr. Samurai, Hatori-san, you’ve done enough, now get back!”[/color]

The croc snapped his head forward as heard the blonde order the others to retreat, what was she thinking? That's when he saw the girl jump into the sky, there was not one attacker...but two? His eyes widened as he saw how high she had leaped in the air, that was when he felt the ground tremor. Breaking his neck the croc looked in front of him as he earth broke, instinctively stiffened the muscles in his tail and stuck it into the ground to help stand his ground. He then crossed both his arms over his body as he prepared for the blast.

It was too powerful, the ground collapsed from beneath him and the croc was sent flying into the lake. He hit body of water like a bomb sending water splashing everywhere, laying submerged under the water for about a minute or two as the others conversed. What the hell was that and how was she capable of such power? He chuckled as he hit the lake floor...man, did it feel good down here. He almost didn’t want to get up and congratulate the group for passing his little test.

As a example to the next generation he had a duty to do, Master Croc erupted from the body of water with a bitter face though it was truthfully a ruse. He looked at all of them as if he was a wild animal though this was disrupted as he broke out into a roaring laughter. [color=01796F]“Hohoho, that was some attack there. Yeah, I’ll say you touched a nerve,”[/color] the man said walking out the water as if nothing happened. He started doing a couple of lunges trying to loosen up the afflicted nerves.

Hatori was the first to respond as soon as Master Croc got back up, and immediately turned around when the water started bubbling more intensively. She swiftly snapped out of her fan-girl state and directed her planes at the pro hero once more. But instead of a fight, he broke into laughter. The pilot would-be-hero blinked in confusion.

[color=01796F]“I like you kids, you all have spirit so I will give you a small gift in return for a good fight.”[/color] he then signaled for Takeshi to come close. [color=01796F]“Swordsman, come over here really quick. You can trust me I am done fighting for now.”[/color]

Takeshi hesitated for a moment before slowly making his way over to Master croc. Despite his proclamation he was done fighting he still stood in a slight defensive stance when he came near the pro hero. [color=bc8dbf]What is it?[/color] He asked just loud enough for Master croc to hear.

[color=01796F]“Ah, come on why the hostility. I was just going to give you back the feeling in your arm,”[/color] the man said, extending his hand out towards the boy. He couldn’t help but smile as the samurai still seemed pretty hurt about making his arm limp. Once the boy surrendered his arm the Master grabbed onto him with his left claw; his single hand was enough to cover more than half of Takeshi’s forearm. With his right hand, he struck the afflicted nerves with his pointer and middle finger, and slowly the boy would feel his arm spring back to life. [color=01796F]“How’s your arm feeling now?”[/color]

Takeshi watched as the Master worked with the pressure points. He knew of this technique, most of the people in Japan knew of it, but there were only a few who really knew how to use it. His lip twitched as the sharp pins and needles feeling could be felt in his arm then suddenly he had complete control over his arm once again. [color=bc8dbf]”Better, Thank you Master Croc.”[/color] he said, flexing his hand.

Hatori finally brought her planes down, returning them to her hands while staring at the pro hero, and then her own group. [color=C0C0C0]”Wait… does that mean the fight’s over? We won...kind of?”[/color] It didn’t seem like they had truly put him down. She almost forgot that they were still doing the activity, and had no idea how much time they spent dealing with Master Croc. [color=C0C0C0]”And what’s this gift you’re talking about?”[/color]

[color=#F50A83]”We… won? Yay, we won...~”[/color] What was perhaps the world’s most understated cheer somehow eked its way out of the blonde girl’s mouth before it, too, was almost completely drowned out by an almost painfully long yawn. Fumika wobbled once more in place, tilting almost dangerously far to one side and looking practically ready to collapse at any second. Sure enough, a moment later, she seemed to completely lose her balance and toppled over to one side, only to be caught by Takeshi as he was making his way back to the group.

[color=bc8dbf]”Woop…”[/color] He said as he caught her by wrapping his arm around her shoulders. [color=bc8dbf]Fumika-Chan… you ok?”[/color] He asked with a slight tone of worry on his deep voice.

[color=#F50A83]”Sleepy,”[/color] Fumika mumbled back, her voice partially muffled not only by the high collar of her romper, but also by the fabric of Takeshi’s coat as her head ended up awkwardly pillowed against his shoulder. [color=#F50A83]”I’m sorry, Mr. Samurai...  If I play too many things back, my head gets really heavy… I just need to take a nap… and maybe eat some snacks to get my charge back… Oh no, now I’m hungry…”[/color] The girl’s stomach rumbled rather pathetically to punctuate this explanation, and she awkwardly drew back and rubbed her eyes again.

The Croc smirked as he held a hand out towards the young pilot, [color=01796F]“You’re a sassy one, aren’t you?”[/color] he said as he folding his arms. [color=01796F]“On this battleground there is a complete sewer system in which I know like the back of my hand. We can enter through this lake which will be a straight shot right into the body of water next to your objective. If you want, I can guide you all to where you need to be."[/color]

Takeshi smirked as he found out that she was just tired. She really was an odd girl. Suddenly that sleepiness turned to hunger, and he thought for a second. As she pulled away he still had his right arm on her shoulder for a moment to make sure she just didn’t fall over again. His other hand padding down himself even though he knew he didn’t have any food on him. [color=bc8dbf]You don’t have to be sorry about this Fumika-chan. And just call me Takeshi if you'd like.”[/color]

He looked over to Croc and Hatori as he was explaining how he will give them a shortcut and while that was great news, he would rather have a charged Fumika. Not that he didn’t mind carrying her. [color=bc8dbf]Um...actually do either of you guys have any food? Or does this place even have, like perhaps a stash of food and supplies somewhere?[/color]

Hatori sighed in relief when Master Croc mentioned a spacious sewer system that they could enter to get to the point to at least make up for some time they spent fighting the pro hero. Upon hearing about it, she promptly pulled up her oxygen mask; she was pretty sure those sewage systems were largely unused besides maybe draining rain water, but she rather not take chances in smelling some terrible fumes.

[color=#F50A83]”No… don’t worry about it,”[/color] Fumika protested rather unconvincingly, shaking her head back and forth as if attempting to forcibly dislodge the sleepiness from it. [color=#F50A83]”This is just because I used so much charge all at once… I’ll be fine in a moment…”[/color] She fidgeted a bit with her hair, casting some doubt upon what she was saying. [color=#F50A83]”Although,”[/color] She added a bit less emphatically. [color=#F50A83]”I don’t think I’ll be able to fight much more before I pass out like last time, but you can just leave me when I do.”[/color] She stated this “solution” to the problem with unexpected bluntness, although she partly seemed like she was trying to convince herself of what she was saying rather than trying to persuade her teammates. 

[color=#F50A83]”It’s fine. I won’t… get in the way, so it’s fine.”[/color] She clenched a fist in apparent resolve, then froze, looking down at it with an odd expression. Slowly, she unfolded her open palm, and then poked at it a few times with her other hand, a strangely red hue suddenly coloring the edges of her cheeks. She was… embarrassed? But it didn’t seem like that had anything to do with what she’d just said about getting in the way. Then… her hand?

Takeshi looked back to her as she spoke up once again, clearly trying backpedal and say she really didn’t need food. He sighed and shook his head, [color=bc8dbf]“We will figure out something ok? We don't want to leave you behind.”[/color] 

While he said this, he noticed her blushing cheeks and how she was poking her hand. Embarrassed about something… He glanced at her hand and didn’t see anything on there, no tears in her clothes or bruises. [color=bc8dbf]"What is it, Fumi-Chan?”[/color] He asked softly watching her hand.

Fumika blinked, her bright blue eyes seeming surprised for a moment, before she glanced away quite abruptly - the first time it seemed like she’d genuinely tried to avoid his gaze. Normally, she just looked at everything with that same blank stare… Was this just because she was tired, or was something… Rather, had he done something wrong?

It took her a moment to answer, but only a moment. She looked back at him with a face that almost seemed bashful… and answered cryptically in a absent minded voice that sounded anything but.

[color=#F50A83]”Nothing’s wrong. It’s just… warm. Soft,”[/color] She explained cryptically. But even she seemed to realize that this explanation was lacking, and so, taking a deep breath, she answered him more plainly.

[color=#F50A83]”It feels like I’m still holding your hand.”[/color] She looked at him as if expecting something. How was he supposed to react to that, exactly? There was dead silence between them for a moment before she shook her head and once again looked away.

[color=#F50A83]”I’m sorry. I said something strange.”[/color] She apologized once again, bowing her head deeply in a manner that made him almost fear for her safety, considering how tipsy she’d seemed before. Nevertheless, she managed to right herself on her own and turned to follow the others on their journey to the point. 

[color=#F50A83]”Nevermind. Right now, let’s just win… okay,”[/color] She hesitated for just a moment here, but only a moment. And then… she spoke exactly as he had asked her to, without adding or dropping anything.
[color=#F50A83]”Okay, Takeshi?”[/color]

Takeshi pulled his head up as she mentioned them falling down. If she was looking closely, a blush appeared on his face at this mention as well….even more so when she added the comment about how it felt like she was still holding it. He didn’t know what to say really. He wasn’t really ever in this position...ever. He nodded and stood up. [color=bc8dbf]"R-right."[/color]

Hatori glanced awkwardly away, though it was rather hard to see her emotions when her oxygen mask was covering everything below the bridge of her nose. That being said, she looked a bit like Dulga now, minus the height difference and stoic attitude. [color=C0C0C0]“...Anyway, we should get moving,”[/color] Hatori declared in front of the two. [color=C0C0C0]”We still have a point to take and other teams to deal with. Heck, maybe after all that fighting with Croc-guy over here, they probably thinned themselves out for us.”[/color]