[center] [img]http://i.imgur.com/tOSegMM.png[/img] [h3][color=b16edd]Reina Mori[/color][/h3] [/center] Reina had willingly shut down her second orb, realizing Rakasha wasn't immediately planning to kill her. If she could just bide her time as much as possible, and rested--as much as she could 'rest' while being held by her neck--she might be able to break free with a sudden, strong push with two orbs again. It was a long shot, but it was all she could do for the moment--though she kept struggling to push with her own personal gravity, to simply make it seem like she was completely running out of strength. At the same time though, despair was finally beginning to set in. Now that there was finally nothing she could do but wait, her exhausted mind wandered. Takeshi... had been killed, hadn't he? Despite all her injuries, that realization hurt her more than anything else--a stab a thousand times more devastating than the one Rakasha had inflicted on her. Why? Why did it hurt so much? She'd experienced people she knew passing away before. Why did it this time make her heart feel frozen? She was reminded of the pain of a betrayal against her in her past--a justified betrayal, in her opinion. A childhood friend that had become her greatest reason to be terrified of having to wake up for each new day. Reina understood. [i]That[/i] was a reason why it hurt so much. Takeshi wasn't just [i]a person she knew[/i]. He was a lot more than that. She had already spent hours with him training--more time than with anyone else in years. Michiko, and Roy and Kaida too--they were among her first friends since that long-passed betrayal. The first people who had gotten her over her fear of making any personal connections, scared of the pain that came when those connections were broken. And Takeshi had to go and get himself killed. It felt like as much of a betrayal. The girl fought back quiet sobs. Her mind immediately looked for ways to blame herself--like the last betrayal, it must have been her fault. She wasn't strong enough. She wasn't quick-thinking enough. She didn't try hard enough. [color=b16edd][i]Worthless.[/i][/color] And for all those same reasons, now she was going to lose Michiko. Her bleary gaze looked to the girl held in shadowy tendrils, and then to the latest development--another villain that the first two were acting subordinate towards. Another person Reina so desperately wanted to snuff the life from. She watched as Kaida was taken by the new figure, having to fight back the urge to reignite her quirk--she couldn't, not yet, she needed to gather as much strength as possible. Seeing Kaida being hurt made that exceedingly difficult. [color=b16edd][i]I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry.[/i][/color] Roy made his move, lighting up the area with his quirk going further than she had ever seen it go. And he was instantly shut down by the villain. Reina began to panic. Kaida, Roy, Michiko, Takeshi--why couldn't she help them!? [color=b16edd][i]Worthless worthless worthless worthless worthless--[/i][/color] There were pros here now, she noticed, but even they seemed to be unable to do anything. Reina wanted to scream at them to do something, to save her friends. Her eyes shot to Rakasha's raised blade, his boss having given him the order to kill her. The girl's open eye narrowed, defiant to the last. [color=b16edd][i]Not yet, not yet![/i][/color] It didn't matter how weak she was. As long as everyone was in danger, she wouldn't give up. If she did, the regret would make be worse than simply being killed here. So Reina sucked in air and braced herself, ready to see how much her quirk had left to give, her fractured thoughts on Michiko and Takeshi... A noise above grabbed Rakasha's attention, Reina choosing to ignore whatever it was and seeing it as her chance-- And then the villain simply let her go, the very last thing she expected, causing her to hesitate and simply stare in confusion as she steadied herself under her own power. Her eye only widened futher seeing the back of the figure that dropped down between them, striking blows at Rakasha. [color=b16edd]"Ta... keshi?..."[/color] she breathed, disbelieving. The girl felt herself grabbed and lifted before she could process it. Even as she was lifted, she stared. Takeshi was alive. He was as alive as she was, as Roy, Kaida, and Michiko were. The girl glanced to her side, seeing whoever had grabbed her had also taken Michiko. Good. She began squirming, looking up to the pro she couldn't immediately recognize due to not really caring. Despite her immediate protests to let her go, he wasn't having any of it. Her friends were still fighting. She refused to not be there with them, no matter what this pro thought. Frustration rising at the wasted moments, the girl activated an orb, having it pull on only her from below. [color=b16edd]"Keep Michiko safe!"[/color] she said as she was pulled out of his grasp suddenly. As she fell through the air, she had to fight the amazing wave of joy that washed through her battered body and mind. Takeshi was alive, and Michiko was out of danger! The pros had finally decided they could strike with Takeshi's appearance, and were moving in fast as she was. Rakasha had been injured. They had a chance again. Hope gave her a second wind, nearly as much as the disbelieving despair of Takeshi's disappearance had. The fight wasn't over yet. She'd allow herself to be happy afterwards, but for now she focused everything on battle--which, as she had realized today, was something she was good at focusing on. Until her body completely gave out, she was going to make sure she was a problem for these villains. She directed herself down with her orbs pull, aiming at the surprised and injured Rakasha. Reina's mind began to settle as it had been during her fight, thoughts only on how to win and her desire to keep her friends alive. Rakasha was about to get a second sky-bombing. Reina brought her right leg up to her chest, sole aiming directly at the villain. She held her breath, completely set on the control of her orb's pulling strength, making sure it was cranked on her to increase her velocity. Timing the meteoric descent, she quickly brought the orb up and above her head a meter before she made contact, and [i]pulled[/i] with her own gravity in the same moment. Ready to slow herself with her orb before she hit the ground, but not before she hit Rakasha, she gave another battle cry that she was unwittingly becoming fond of. [color=b16edd]"Say hello to him yourself!"[/color] she yelled with her ragged voice, kicking down as hard as she could.