Round 2!
Ayesha was excited. So excited she was hopping up and down in place, hoping to warm up and release some of that tension. Her partner, the Super Fighting Teenage Robot, was next to her, almost towering over her. The heels helped a lot, but his costume added just as much height as her heels. They were placed right in front of the building, it's darkened threshold agape for all to see. The countdown to begin would start soon. She took this time to address her partner. After all after seeing what it looked like inside she knew she was at a serious disadvantage.
"Okay Phones, I need you with me here. If you haven't noticed I'm kinda screwed. Inside means tight corners and little area to move. Against Demon Boy and the Road-runner, I'm practically useless without the vertical. So whatever happens, do NOT let me leave your side. I repeat, do. NOT. Let me leave your side."
Here, the mechsuit-wearing partner looked over to her, he gave it some thought before Renji asked,
"Sure but, are you certain your Quirk limits you only on the vertical?... Before we begin we should explain to each other what we can do if we cooperate as intended."
"Well… I can throw stuff and send people flying, but against a hulk-out quirk that can really only move them so far. And Yuzuki is just too quick. On a straight away, I might be able to keep up with her, but indoors, there are too many corners and doors. I can't change directions as easily." She took a step forward and looked back at him filled with conviction.
"Which is where you come in. You can use that thing you did on the ball the other week to help me throw in some mix-ups."
"Alright… what makes it hard for you to change your momentum? Depending on that answer I might be able to give a temporary hand. You've seen my quirk a few times but to sum it up, I can toy with vibrations in many ways. Heck, I plan to find them the minute we begin with a small trick. Your ears might feel funny for a moment though. So might theirs."
Ayesha took a moment and tried to think of the best way to explain to him how his quirk worked. She wouldn't have been surprised if many of her classmates thought she had a strength quirk. It wasn't that simple.
"So Phones, you make noise. I like it. Me on the other hand, I'm not super strength or super speed. My quirk is called Coiled-Spring. I'm able to release lots of energy after a build-up of tension. If you remember the grip strength test…" Ayesha was referring to how during the test, she actually only had a grip strength of an average person, but thanks to how tense she was, the thing actually went flying out of her hand and onto the roof of the school.
"Anyway, my quirk is that sudden release of energy. It is violent and quick. But it only works in bursts. I can change direction only once I hit the ground. But if you can change my direction mid-air, then we could have something."
"Only the ground? What about walls and ceilings? Maybe I can affect something that lets you interact with that stored energy quicker, my vibrations gradually amplify and build up if I let them too. Granted, it could be risky for me to try and do similar to you. Mid-air sounds like a stretch but… hrm.."
"Flat-surfaces, yeah whatever, the point is I'm gonna have a hard time since I don't have complete freedom of movement. It's like throwing a bouncy ball in a small room. Thing bounces forever."
It was then they received the signal to enter into the building. Ten minutes, No time to continue discussing the topic much longer.
"Looks like we got to cut the huddle short. Game's about to start.
"You're right.. Once we enter I have two things in mind to start us off. You won't mind me grabbing your shoulder for a sec, do you? Solid enough place I can… Reasonably affect."
Ayesha looked at him, tilting her head in confusion.
Meanwhile, inside the building a pair of pseudo-villains remained guarding the far too big and unnecessarily fake bomb. The fact that it looked more akin to an alien rocket aiming upwards out of the building served to reinforce the feeling that it was nothing but a horrible attempt at poking comedy to the test.
Paired with Fuchizaki, Yuzuki stood rested upon one of the pillars of the room. Aside from the bomb, several other boxes remained in the room apparently for fluff. However, their weight was still considerable. The objective seemed to be limiting movement while inside the room with the bomb, as well as give those who'd fight inside of here things to use during a battle. Yuzuki did not appreciate either. Thinking on the students she'd be facing up against with Suzu, she wondered just how much of a challenge they'd be.
"Seems like we have an interesting match ahead of us. What do you think of our foes? Anything comes to mind as to how to deal with them?" For once Yuzuki's voice was loud enough that it could be easily heard behind the mask. To a extent, she was excited. However, her callousness got the better of her, as she was far more worried about obtaining victory than she was about the methods.
As she questioned Suzu, her eyes moved towards him, fierce with confidence. It was hard to tell if it was born from bravata or skill, but she didn't seem any fazed about the match. If anything, she was more than ready for a challenge.
Lost in thought was Yuzuki's partner who was staring at a wall, not even the doorway while the pair of villains waited for the match to start. He had been thinking back on the previous week and what he had observed from Ayesha and Renji but in honesty he couldn't explain their quirks or what they were even capable of.
"Huh?" Suzu turned to look back at Yuzuki who grabbed his attention. What did he think of the pair that they were to face? That was a difficult question to answer.
"They might be a challenge. Or total pushovers. I know that...the girl." He ended up forgetting her name once more and obviously didn't know Renji's.
"She seems to work in bursts. While headphones works with sound… I want to say? It doesn't matter anyways because I will beat them." Splitting the two up would be the best option for Suzu and his partner. The two were confident in their own abilities and didn't want to rely on others for a win. At least that is how Suzu perceived his partner to be like.
"What if we split them up? Do you think they are strong fighters?"
Yuzuki's eyes darted from him to the doorway and a smirk grew from below the mask once more.
"You're confident… That's a good start. Renji-san's quirk might become an issue. I need to see what he's capable of. Fighting inside this room would clearly be a disadvantage, however. We don't want to destroy the building and give them a chance to get to the bomb. Cut access to the room if you can and let's seek them out instead. We can lay a well-timed trap to test how coordinated they are… And from there we decide if they're worth separating or not." Her expression stiffened. She wondered just how much expertise each of the two had with their quirks. Levels of experience could make someone be leagues apart from one another, and from what it looked like, Renji was a key player in this fight.
"If something drastic happens, I'll take Renji-san head on while you make sure Nishinoya-san doesn't reach the bomb. If the worst comes to happen… You knock Renji out after it." Yuzuki finally said her plan as she proceeded to walk out of the room. Waving her hand for him to follow, she stopped shortly after exiting the room.
"Close off the entrance? That sounds like a solid idea." Suzu's arms were already beginning to transform as she continued on about getting a feel for the pair of heroes. It was the beginnings of a plan but it wasn't quite a real plan. They were headed in the right direction. They were just going to be doing most of the fighting on the fly with no clear ideas on what they were up against.
The red haired demon boy approached one of the six pillars inside of the room that held the bomb and wrapped his now transformed arms around it and began to pull. In mere moments he ripped it out and hoped that the ceiling would not collapse on him.
"Damn this is heavier than I thought." Suzu mentioned though his voice didn't sound strained as if he was actually struggling with the pillar. It was his only option on blocking the entrance to the room. Another option would be to just collapse the ceiling above the doorway and most of the room but that was dangerous and might not even work. Walking backwards with the pillar, head turned to see where he was walking he came to the doorway and dropped the pillar in front of it as he was stepping out.
"Uh. I think one of them could still crawl through the space." The pillar laying on its side wasn't as tall as the doorway but it was close.
"What kind of trap are we setting anyways?" Masked depression had made some comment about a well-timed trap but what could they do? His quirk wasn't useful in making traps, unless a surprise attack counted as a trap then that he could do. Sucker punch Renji and knock him out before he has a chance to react. The confident demon child didn't even think about how experienced or trained the opposition would be. No worries fluttered through his mind. Only on thoughts of winning the match.
The white-haired girl was impressed by the force Suzu managed to exert. It was something that even she likely couldn't reproduce unless she was at max speed. Her cold expression was still the same and was just any different as per a squint of her eyes. Eventually closing them, she signaled for him to follow her, speaking all the while.
"Bait and strike. I can attempt to buy you time by making them believe I'm alone. Meanwhile, you can find a good moment to get into the fight and land a destructive blow. If they're too coordinated… Separate them. We'll have a higher chance of delaying them with direct battles rather than facing the two of them together."
As she finished her description she raised her hand with a finger.
"Regardless of the situation… You'll be able to tell. If I tell you to come in instead of waiting for your opportunity, you crush the ground and go after the girl. Leave me with Renji… He's a worthwhile enemy for me." With those words, she stopped and nodded her head to him.
"Stay close behind, but not too close. I'll take on ahead now." With those last words, she strode forward. If there was anything she wanted here… It was to win, and she would do whatever necessary to reach it.
"So you're absolutely positive that this is the right way?"
Ayesha had been following alone with what yet partner said. They only had 10 minutes to locate and grab the bomb, and Ayesha's plan would have been the tried and true method of running all over the place kicking down doors until they found the right one. Renji seemed to have a better idea fortunately.
They hadn't gotten in far just yet, but it was enough into the first floor that Renji had gestured for them to stop before offering a hidden grin and a thumbs up,
"If they think they're the only ones that'll know the layout of this place, they'll be mistaken. Remember when I mentioned an odd feeling in your ears? Yeah, that's coming up now.. So, I apologize for the feeling." After that, only actions followed as he looked around and spotted a metal panel by the wall. Walking over to it, he knelt down on one leg and lowered himself on the floor, one hand flat onto the surface. Raising the other, he faced the back of his hand towards the panel, in a knocking kind of gesture.
"Normally I could do it more simply, but the noise would surely give it away.. This way, we might be able to catch them off guard. I don't know if Suzu would have keen enough senses to feel it, but Yuzuki just might… Time will tell." Renji took a breath, giving himself a little focus before rapping his knuckle once against the panel,
"Echolocation.. I feel that would be a fair name for it.. Now.. Where are you guys…" As he hit the panel, his arm had vibrated for a few moments before and his body looked to relax in focus. Behind his helmet, his eyes were shut as he 'listened' closely to how everything reverberated. It was gentle, but the place was gradually being mapped out to him like a sonar. To Ayesha, she'd feel an uncomfortable shiver in her ears, but it was a very low frequency noise.
Whether Yuzuki did notice it was something Renji would not know, but eventually an all too subtle rustle in the building would swathe over where the villain team was and even eventually the room to where the bomb was. Now, determining that room was the actual room would still be difficult for him to discern, more-so that a pillar was in front of a doorway but feeling two moving signatures from echoing vibrations would tell him that's where the 'enemy' was.
As the villains were now at least two floors away from the bomb, Yuzuki silently walked. Being a good distance away from Suzu now, she wondered just how well the trap would fare.
Renji's quirk might be… Problematic. Given it's versatile nature, he might be able to do anything at all with it. While Ayesha's quirk can be considered direct and simplistic, his can do anything within a range of vibrations. I wonder… Just how much control and power he can draw from it. Concentration filled her mind for a moment and she was lost in thought, only her walking feet producing any discernible sound to draw her out of her own brainstorming mind.
As Yuzuki thought about their approach, something drew her attention. She had felt one of her ears going under pressure. If it weren't for the sound of her own steps, she wouldn't have noticed. That was not all, the sensation was abnormal. A cold shiver went down her spine, causing her to squint her eyes off into the distance. Immediately stopping, she thought about what she had just concluded. Could it have something to do with Renji and Ayeesha?
What are they doing…?
Immediately turning around, Yuzuki said out loud:
"Change of plans, Fuchizaki-san." She lifted her hand, signaling for him to come closer.
"Let's rush them. I have a bad feeling about Renji's quirk… This means… Immediately separate them as soon as we see them. I'll accelerate the flooring's atoms, that'll let you smash one of them into the lower floor. After that, draw them away from the area… I'll make sure whoever is left can't follow." With those words, Yuzuki's expression turned serious. She wasn't sure what the two of them had just done, but she wasn't going to take any chances. Better to make use of Suzu's overwhelming force in a one-on-one than in the two-on-two.
Suzu had let out a rather large yawn as the pair walked the halls in search for their opponents. Mind unfocused and bored, not even paying attention to where he was walking or what floor they were on now. The bomb could be five floors up and he wouldn't know but he had Yuzuki with him to stay focused on the task at hand.
"I'm hungry…" Suzu mumbled under his breath, though loud enough to be heard by Yuzuki who seemed to stop in her tracks. She seemed to be focusing and that was when he noticed his ears felt some pressure.
Yuzuki was quick to change plans as she seemed to take notice in the change in pressure as well and wanted to just find the two and separate them as quickly as possible. Keep them far away from the bomb.
"Accelerate the floor?" Suzu had no idea what that meant but she made it sound like it would help him smash the floor up which he could do on his own. He didn't need her help but if she wanted to offer it, then who was he to reject the helping hand.
"Lets get moving then!" He said with newfound vigor and purpose. Mind focused once more on the task as he bolted ahead in running motion to quickly find Ayesha and Renji. His arms already beginning to transform once more, ready to fight.
Ayesha was taking it all in. It was odd. There was a low rumble almost completely inaudible. If she didn't know what Renji was doing she wouldn't have even noticed as it already took so much focus just to notice a difference. That was until she heard something else.
It looked like Renji had gotten a reaction out of them after all. Before he let up on his trick, he saw that the two were now on the move at a more hurried pace.
"Well Yuzuki.. Who's going to bait who for this I wonder?" Renji spoke to himself for a bit with a quiet laugh,
"They're not guarding the bomb so they're confident in stopping us outright. They know we did something so now they're moving. I couldn't tell what floor the bomb could've been on but my guess higher than where they were… About… Hm.. Well, we could play it safe and avoid them or see how they play. Avoiding them would be a smarter option in the direness of the situation, but they both can be unpredictable. Even if we were to secure the bomb in a real situation, leaving wild cards on the loose would be a serious risk of unwanted retaliation… I think we'll need to consider this match more than just getting the bomb, despite what we were told…" Renji gave an uncertain chuckle behind his helmet,
"We just might have to get rough after all."
Standing up, Renji tilted his neck left and right and cracked it, looking forward,
"What do you think Ayesha? I know you'd want to avoid it but hey… How about we do half and half? We go for the bomb and find out where it is, it'll be likely they'll backtrack if we keep avoiding them. That way we can at least find out where it is. The time will pressure both sides…"
"We might find some traps perhaps but I can lay some as well.."
"I never said I wanted to avoid it. I'm just at a disadvantage. But a fight' a fight and I am itching!"
They were running out of time! This isn't how Suzu wanted to win at all! He wanted to actually fight and to test the limits of his classmates to see if they were a threat to him and his number one spot. So there he was in the mock building, turning corner after corner and going down a different stairwell to the next floor down before finally turning a corner to see the heroes, though they seemed prepared for him.
"I found them!" Suzu yelled back behind him as he had expected Yuzuki to be right on his tail following.
Following Suzu's voice, a flow of blue energy passed by the floor. It quickly flew by him and the hero pair like a gust of wind, creating cracks and deformations on the floor as it passed by. It was clear that the ground was nowhere near stable now, and accelerated beyond what it's atoms could maintain. Right now they were bouncing to and fro in a massive destabilized wave. From behind Suzu, Yuzuki immediately shouted out…
"Do it now, Fuchizaki!"
Suzu had no idea what his partner was doing ahead of him but he didn't care as he jumped forward and cocked his fist back. He brought his fist down with his momentum as his feet touched the floor and then his fist. His insane strength coupled with Yuzuki's atom thing she had just done caused the floor to shatter like glass underneath them.
Ayesha was ready when she saw them,
"I'm pouncing in! Give me back-up!" She took a moment to spring back, preparing for a jump but just as she pushed her legs out from under her, the floor collapsed.
"Huh?... Uuuuuuh, Renji? Does you're quirk make you taller?... Renji? RENJIIIiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!!!!!"
If they could see his face, his brow would've been twitching as he watched Ayesha fall but when Suzu saw they were ready, they were for the most part. Renji had a feeling something was off with the flooring, but it was too late to react to Ayesha falling however. He himself moved back to a partially stable piece of flooring, but the hallway itself was practically shattered for this floor. Had he noticed sooner, perhaps he might've been able to interfere... But the present is now, and before trying to dive down to help his teammate, it was very likely that another white-haired individual would step in his way.
Looking on towards Yuzuki, Renji couldn't help but grin,
"I had a feeling you two would have something set up but this is a surprise... I wasn't familiar with what you could do fully so I had no idea what I was feeling with the floor up until now… You just might have given me an idea however. Honestly… Despite Ayesha telling me to stick together, I had a faint idea of separating you two as well. You both left the bomb unguarded and I could tell you found out I was up to something.. I knew you two were coming early on."
"Had we made the first move, we could have separated the two of you and kept our two together.. Clearly, that's not the case…" He smiled behind his helmet and pulled himself into a sort of stance. It was likely Yuzuki wasn't going to let him get past her any further from this point on and something told him they were thinking something similar along the lines they may have known they'd be fighting each other.
"I've been itching to see what you can really do in a fight. Normally I don't talk nearly this much…"
"I'm flattered… I assure you, the feeling is mutual. Now, then… Come, Hero." A cold smirk appeared behind Yuzuki's mask as she took steps forward from behind the now destroyed hallway. The blue glow across the entire place quickly faded away and now the walls were back to normal, despite their entirely broken disposition. The atoms were back in place, but the stability of the concrete wasn't any better. However, with that phrase, it was clear… Yuzuki was not his classmate at the moment, she was a full-fledged villain aiming to stop Renji… The hero.