Live In Fear

Around and around the wheel went, the group still holding their breaths as each name flew past the marker. They had all just witnessed the absolute slugfest that had unfolded mere moments ago courtesy of Arius and Fukuro, of course they were all naturally pissed off by the fact Arius had won the thing and probably was already his way to crowning himself as King of the Foundation already. If having to listen to him before was driving them up the wall, having to do it now was like taking multiple shots to the private region.

The absolute worst part? As soon as he was back in the observation deck, mainly on account of the fact his Quirk personally kept his body spotless despite the fact his nerves were reacting like Etna had exploded on them, he was already back to running his mouth "He has a weak ass right hook," he said with a smarmy grin. Glares were abound, and if it weren't for the wheel finally stopping, chances were that many of the people in the room were about to jump him sooner rather than later.

Fukuro, on the other hand, had been sent to the infirmary as a precautionary measure. He was still very much conscious and feeling fine, although, the massive hole where the tree stump's stray bark had pierced him was very much an issue. Frankly, Kyte wasn't really going to let a new member of his Foundation walk around with a huge hole in his chest, even if it was a mythical Owlbear.

PR would be a nightmare with that.

"Hmm, well, well, well, looks like our next contestant is going to be a one Mr Joseph Weaver." Subaru announced, leaning over the wheel and propping his head via his hand. With a lick of his glossy lips, he watched the unemotional child with an inquiring glance. This kid was an interesting one, it sure was going to be fun watching this next fight. "You don't see sufficiently excited, Jo-chan, something wrong?"

Joseph, briefly meeting Subaru's eyes for an instant, didn't say anything. Instead, his eyes then trailed down to the still wet Ace of Spades that had been "gifted" to him ever so kindly, before he turned on his heel. Honestly, none of this was even making any sense at this point, but if he had been told to do something who was he to resist against it? Still, that didn't stop him from speaking to Arius on the way out "Immortal? Tch, you're just a regenerating meatbag. Watch your step."

As Joseph pushed past him, Arius gave a look that was in between amused and confused, laughing slightly as he waved in the direction the other had gone. "Somebody's pissed, I hadn't even said anything yet!" It didn't matter that he was being stared at like he was the worst villain in the history of man, Arius didn't care. He was loving this place already! These people were just too much fun to mess with!

"You're just a natural, aren't you, Ari-chan?" Subaru said, snickering all the while as he began to spin the wheel again, his eyes not leaving one particular corner in the room that none of the people in it bar him had cared to check. This time the thing moved and settled an awful lot faster, almost like the pervious time was a deliberate ploy to waste time. "Looks like we got another foreigner up next, come on out, Jeung Meilia. Come on, I only bite people I don't like."

As soon as the words left Subaru's lips, ignoring the last comment that put some very unpleasant images into the collective's head, all eyes turned to where Subaru was looking. Hidden away in the corner, trying to now hide behind some equipment after seeing her cover being rumbled, was Meilia Jeung.

Her sudden appearance in an area they had thought empty was a definite shock to the system, one of the people, a teen boy, covered all over his body by short lavender fur, that was yet to speak happened to be standing right next to her at the time and promptly collapsed backwards in shock.

How had she managed to slip under their noses but somehow end up right in the sightline of Subaru? As if the man knew she had been there the whole time and decided not to voice it for the hell of it. None of them really could recall ever seeing her when they were in the meeting area earlier, maybe she had just gotten here super early?

Alternatively, maybe she had gotten by them because of her look?

Compared to a couple of the other girls, and even one or two of the males, she was tall, standing at well over average height for Japan at 5'8 and making the resident Loli look even shorter by comparison. She had long, wild, ebony hair that cascaded down to her mid back and framed the front of her face quite nicely. Although she was trying her best to pretend that she didn't see anything by closing her eyes, a brief crack of them revealed them to be a bright, royal purple colour with cat like pupils sticking through in the centre. Her clothing didn't really evoke much of a reaction, a very standard purple t-shirt, a long jacket that was so unremarkable that the colour was barely relevant, and finally there was a pair of baggy trousers that had Mei doing her best not to let them drop, she was of a relatively slim stature, after all.

"You can't hide there forever, young one~." Subaru cooed, flicking his wrist over to the combat arena where Joseph stood in stillness waiting for his opponent to march through those double doors. "I would actually quite like to leave Jo-chan there for quite a while, but we've got a schedule to keep, so I would get to it if I were you."

Trying her best not look anyone of the people in the eye, not wanting to face the judgement from those waiting gazes, Mei kept her head locked to the ground with her own eyes still bolted shut as she shuffled out to the battle arena. Her footsteps silent up until the very moment that they smacked against the hard floor straight across from where Joseph was watching her with a calculating gaze.

As soon as Subaru was finished messing about with a couple of the switches, the scene around them spluttered into life. This time around it was a bustling city full of lights and skyscrapers that tore open the heavens, to some people it would've looked sort of familiar as a tourist destination that had a less than savoury history, however, to one person it held a lot more to them than just being a place of flashing lights and shiny buildings. Something simple, say something like a shop, could hold a lot more weight than anything that existed in this mirage.

To Mei, that mirage felt as heavy as having one of these skyscrapers fall on top of her. What was with this place? First, they had decided to let total strangers beat the tar out of each other, next they were busy traumatising them. The place that she had been placed next to was perfect down to a tee, there was no way that it was done by accident. Compared to the others, many of them having been focused on the bloodbaths that had come before them so much that they lost the bigger picture, her silent observations had led her to draw a few conclusions of her own.

It would be an insult to her craft if she gave up casing the people around her at every waking moment, and she had noticed a few things about her possible opponents and almost certainly about the opponent that had been dropped at her doorstep. He may have been trying to hide something by shoving his hands into his pockets, he may have tried to deny it if anyone dared to bring it up, but Mei had seen it. Now, it was just a case of what that actually meant and how she could factor it into her battle plan. Were they a pressure point? Were they part of his Quirk? Or were they just a distraction to make sure that she was directed away from the real problem? Either way, she would be winning this and winning it quickly at that, it wasn't like she had a choice in the matter anyway.

She was just about to start her first move, having noticed a small alleyway that was shielded away from the bright lights of the city, when a brief flicker caught her eyes. Looking up, one of the red lights that had been illuminating the place had been snuffed out, moments later there was another one that was gone, then another, then another, then another. It happened until every single light in the arena flickered out of existence, cloaking everything in a bed of darkness that would be deeply unsettling to normal individuals with normal fears. Good thing they were all at the Foundation for a reason.

If she herself were any different, the lack of light may have torpedoed Mei's plans, but this simply worked to her advantage. She was more than comfortable working in the dark, she had done it mot of her life. If her opponent thought that this was some way of playing mind games on her, he was sorely mistaken and was about to get one hell of a wakeup call.

Slipping into the alleyway, she let herself be consumed by the shadows, not in a literal sense like a certain Kitsune that was currently halfway between heaven and hell, but more in the sense that they glided seamlessly over her skin and clothes, hiding her from sight as she began to climb up to a roof to get a better vantage point. The whole escapade making no sound whatsoever as she ascended with trained ease.

On the other side of the generated city, Joseph was already making good progress himself. His own section was faded to black as well, the lights now being about as useful as a chocolate teapot, however, he didn't mind the fact that no one was really going to be able to see the deed. He wasn't here to make this thing look pretty and he wasn't about to hold back on this seemingly invisible girl, these people had no idea what he was capable of doing to them, and it was as much about showing the others, as well as all the rest of them, who was on top here. If he was going to be in a circus, he may as well be the Ringmaster while he's at it.

Checking his surroundings, the first step to making sure no one was going to dare jump out at him like had seen in the previous fight, the place he spawned in next to flashed like a lightning bolt through his head. There were certain… Words… Images… Directives… That were associated with this particular place, yet he couldn't exactly pinpoint the direct correlation between them. It looked like that place, yet it didn't feel like it even if it was making Joseph feel dizzy, as if his mind were being made into putty, whilst he was looking at it.

No matter, it was just another building… Just another building… At least that's what he kept telling himself as he looked about. There were plenty of them about the place, there was another one, a pretty tall one at that, which stood directly to the other side of him. He doubted Mei was anywhere actually close to him, he would've been able to at least sense her by now or have some kind of indication of her presence.

Dragging his hands across the walls of the building, they turned more and more red by the second, the white skin being replaced by a demonic coat as whatever trace amounts of electricity, be it the stray one or two lights that were hidden away or the appliance that was still running for whatever reason. Realistically, he could drain this whole place if he wanted too, but the simulation's lights were going to be more than enough to put him on the top of the mountain. He would settle for knocking Arius off of his perch, though, that would be awful nice.

Still, he first had to figure out what exactly Mei's Quirk was… It was definitely an anomaly if no one was able to sense her, and there were a fair few very animalistic Quirks at play here. Was it the power to scrub her scent clean? It didn't sound like much, but it sounded like something that posed an issue and sounded like something that would definitely result in a prolonged period of cries of "useless" from bullies. If not, then it must have been something that left her invisible, his reasoning was very simple actually. Logically, she must have been the first person to arrive, then she sat in the meeting area totally invisible and scouted them all out. It was the only reasonable and natural conclusion that Joseph could come too, which would mean that there were a multitude of ways that he could smoke her out. Both literally and figuratively.

As more electrical circuits began to fizzle out of existence, Joseph's skin got increasingly demonic as it bled a red wave of new skin, his horns and eyes now increasingly form fitting with the tail simply adding into the demonic flair as it swished about dangerously, almost like it was just looking for someone to stab. He had quickly come up with a way to properly sniff out the danger.

With practiced focus and concentration, moderately sized bolts of orange lightning emanated from his red fingers as they streaked down every alley he laid his hands upon. If the girl did indeed have an invisibility Quirk, lights alone weren't going to be enough and although they could help him have a general location, it would be better if he used his Quirk to pinpoint the exact area at a time. If this invisibility was to do with light refraction, there was no doubt in Joseph's mind that he was going to find her easily.

What Joseph had assumed incorrectly, was that Mei did not in fact have any form of invisibility Quirk, nor was he even aware of how much danger he was in in this current moment in time. Mei had a much more dangerous Quirk than he could've ever imagined, the whole no one spotting her thing? To be honest, that kinda hurt, but it was merely a consequence of no one here actually going up to each other and acting like normal human beings. Plus, it had always been a talent of hers, vanishing in plain sight. Turned out it was a very useful tool for her passion as well as for kitschy, brutal fights organised by a sociopathic clown and vampire duo.

After leaving her area, Mei had been tracking everywhere else the lights had gone out. There was no way they had been doing that accidently, and her suspicions were proved correct once she witnessed those streaks of orange lightning lighting up various small paths and alleyways. As she stood above, having moved swiftly from rooftop to rooftop with the grace of a natural predator hunting down their prey, she checked everywhere she could for Joseph without leaving the sanctity of her high ground.

The lack of light had actually made him far easier to spot, those lightning strikes were flashy and there was no doubt in Mei's mind that being on the receiving end of it would be the greatest amount of pain she took ever since she first arrived in this country.

But she couldn't be thinking about what was next or even what was in the past, she had to focus on the present. Quietly, gracefully, purposefully, she glided over to the next rooftop, the position where she had seen the latest lightning charges go off. All she had to do was to simple imagine this as another heist, one where the target wasn't some fancy jewel encased by a laser trap, instead as one where the jewel was fighting back.

Everything was played through her head, all possibilities, all variables, all angles, everything she assumed he was capable of, and everything he himself thought he was capable of. Whilst she went through all that data, her hand palmed about looking for something to start the distraction phase of her plan. Landing upon a little piece of rubble, Mei winged the broken piece of roof tilling she found as far as would still be logical for Joseph to be able to hear it.

Hear it Joseph did, his prowl stopping as his ears danced with the noise. He wasn't like the others here that had some kind of enhanced senses, it was kinda impressive how many of them had that kind of ability to that Quirks, but he wasn't dense. The piece of rubble Mei threw had landed only about three or four buildings away and unbeknownst to the demonic looking teen who launched off in that direction without a second thought, the ebony haired girl was right on his tail, still avoiding moving away from the rooftops and the comforting darkness.

The sound, to Joseph's mind, was the sweetest memory he had made in this past day. He may have arrived here with high hopes, his mother had done a decent job of selling this place to him, even when that vampire had been using him as a human crash test dummy when they had first met he had at least respected his elders like he was told to. However, that damn clown who given him that card through that stupid ass magic trick, alongside the veritable freak show of a side cast he had to become acquainted with. It made him angry beyond imagination that he was wasting his future and his dream to become just like that man. The one who had given everything for him when he was pulled out of that pit he had confided himself to, Joseph owed it to that man and being he wasn't going to do it like this even if he did become the ringleader of this fucking circus.

His hands were already arching, the bolts of electricity jumping between outstretched hands and bony fingers. Each bolt the coming knock out blow for Mrs Invisible, even if they had never exchanged blows once so far. She couldn't possibly be stronger than him, not just because she had a Quirk that didn't match his, but rather that if she thought she could win this thing by running away she was sorely outmatched.

So, imagine Joseph's surprise as he reached the area of effect and was not the first to strike, not even close. He could never imagine the appearance of the very high up, very visible, very on fire Mei that descended down from the Heavens with a devastating elbow drop. In the few short moments between recognition and impact, Joseph had just about managed to duck his head by a hair's breadth away from the fiery elbow, however, it did nothing for his now exposed neck. Mei grinned in delight as her appendage struck him hard in the neck's sensitive pressure point, her true target all along.

The resulting aftershock knocking both of them to the ground, Mei landing square on top of Joseph as the later smacked the side of his head against the ground. His left horn, meanwhile, had found itself jabbed into Mei's back as the ebony haired, still flaming girl, tried desperately to yank herself clear. Shutting her eyes as tight as she could, supressing her screams, supressing any other bodily reactions, she tore her back away from the horn, said part of her body now being the owner of a hole that was staining her clothes a crimson red. But it didn't matter, she was up at the count of three and ready to hear the glorious ten count so she could blow this joint and head off to the infirmary.

There was no chance, zero, zip, zilch, nada, that Joseph was going to arise from that blow. She had put away many a guard and many an officer with that move, the Jet Flow Elbow Drop, as the purple flames that had erupted from the pores of her skin dripped back and were extinguished as they retreated back into said pores. She had hit him square in the neck's most sensitive area, it was always the deadliest place to go to, any pressure point was, she hoped that the blow to his head didn't cause any extra damage, but she was more than comfortable to have that be the case if it meant victory.

Meilia Jeung

Quirk: Hell cat

Hell Cat normally allows Mei to release burst like purple flames from the pores of her skin. The flames come out akin to the flames from a jet engine, possessing large amount of outward velocity and force instead of just burning from where they are released, imagine if you will that her pores are all mini jet engines and the flames that are produced are those flames. That is why the flames are dubbed Burst Flames because of their chaotic and violent nature. She has since channelled this into a specific fighting style.

So, Joseph rose to his feet at the measly count of five, despite the massive purple patch that spread over the afflicted side of his head, also in spite of his clothes being somewhat singed, Mei gulped. It was like she was staring into the face of the devil itself, Joseph's visage twisted in rage and total disgust for the girl in front of him. If Mei weren't a God-fearing person, now would be a really good time to start praying for some help from up above.

"You should've hit harder…" Joseph drawled out, electricity swirling around his arms and his legs like coils of doom for Mei. His entire body by this point was fully red, the pupils of his eyes almost as dark as the sclera itself.

She had touched him, touched him, touched him…

Touched him.

Touched him…

TOUCHED HIM!

There was only one way that this was going to end up, and three people happened to know exactly what was going to happen next.

Joseph reared his fist back and within the blink of an eye, he had already struck Mei multiple times, each one to a very different, very painful part of her body. One to the leg, one to the arm, one to the chest, one to the head, if Joseph could feasibly hit it then he did it.

It wasn't the power of a normal punch either, the speed was lightning fast, and the power was even more of a storm than that. If there was anything that could compare to the volcanic level of pain and suffering that he was dishing out to Mei, it was yet to be discovered. She could feel each successive blow carve a hole through her, digging in deeper and deeper as it pushed her towards an increasingly death like state with no sign of Joseph stopping. Frankly, it seemed as if the devil like boy had been replaced by a cold, hardened killer whose brutality was unmatched by almost anything in the world.

It likely would've been just as destructive without the boost, but the lightning wasn't just for show. Pumping through his body, his fists and legs moved at a blur as the orange light made his limbs dance even faster than the human eye would be able to see. This was the main utility of his Quirk, the red skin and small bolts were just for show. The true power thrummed beneath his skin, being stockpiled for the killer blow he would deliver in an instance to those foolish enough to step up to him. This was Furfur.

Joseph Weaver

Quirk: Furfur

Furfur is an electricity-based Quirk that can vary in power determined by the amount of electricity currently stored in the user. The Quirk allows Joseph to sap electricity from nearby electrical devices within a 20 meters range. Upon absorption, the electricity will be strengthened past previous state and can be used to emit orange lightning at targets with a range of 20 meters. The current storage limit is not known. This storage gradually makes his skin red, although the reason behind it is unknown to the world at large. The second aspect of the Quirk allows Joseph to use electricity to boost his movement in short bursts in single directions. This also applies to single limbs as well, allowing him to strengthen his punches to that of almost rivalling a strength boost related quirk. Over time, if not used, the electricity stored in Joseph will slowly fade with his skin turning normal over time as well.

The sheer power of the blows, the murderous intent, the forceful impact that came from multiple angles, all of it was too much for Mei to handle. Mei wasn't used to these sorts of confrontation, one on one fights made her… Nervous for lack of a better term to use. Her body really wasn't used to taking such direct punishment, and she really didn't want to receive it either lest something really dreadful emerge from the cracks she had suppressed it down into. Still, she was now sharing more in common with a smear on the ground than a fully functional human being as she was planted face first via a hard uppercut that knocked her lights out upstairs.

It was a tough effort once they had re-emerged to get up on top of that. Joseph, not wanting anything to go even the slightest bit out of his control now that he had a gun to control's head, had stomped down hard on her chest. His entire body weight now pinning her to the ground. He would've attacked more, made the wench pay for trying to dare to touch him and think that just because she got one lucky hit in that she was going to win, but he only needed to incapacitate her for ten seconds. After that period was over, he could get back to dishing out what he did best in these situations. Broken bones and shattered limbs.

Mei, on the other hand, clawed at his feet, the flames erupting from her pores once again. She could already hear Subaru was up to the count of six and soon she would be counted out of this thing without so much as a say in the matter. Even as the flames poured out once again, the wound from Joseph's horn through her back played up, her face contorting in pain as she was just about able to generate enough heat from her body at large to force the devil like male to retreat to cooler ground. The count reached a total of nine before she was able to get fully up to her feet, the addition of her flames powering her up just in the nick of time.

Said flames also happened to have another quality to them. Just like Joseph had been able to use his lightning to supercharge his punches and effectively stun Mei in the process, Mei had been able to use her flames to her advantage. You see, by focussing just hard enough, she could concentrate her flames in one part of her body and use that to propel her forward. Sure enough, she pooled all of the flames currently under her feet and charged forward.

The resulting knee strike cracking Joseph right in the chest, knocking the wind out of him the process. Whilst his fists may have been sped up by the lightning, his reaction time was not and by the time he had even clocked the first hit, Mei had already stuck him again. With the flames still channelled around her leg, and knee still firmly in his abdomen, she nailed a nasty looking step-up enziguri kick right to the crook of Joseph's neck.

If the first strike had left him reeling, this second blow knocked Joseph out cold. Once more, his face acquainted itself with the ground as Mei crushed her boot over his back. It really was like a heist in some ways, just because he had gotten a couple cheap hits on her didn't mean she wasn't still a genius at her craft. She was confident now, especially this time as it was the second time she had struck him hard in the neck, that she was going to come out on top of this fight.

However, there was something deep within Joseph that simply refused to extinguish. It wasn't like he had anywhere close to given his all, not by a longshot. Sure, the kick to his already damaged neck was unpleasant at best, excruciating at worst, and made him wonder if the powered attack had cracked multiple bones as the whole damn thing was really stiff now, but he wouldn't still be alive if he let shit like that keep him down. He still had tonnes, metric tonnes, millions of watts and joules, left and he wasn't going to stop until he had used absolutely everything.

As the count cracked eight, his eyes snapped open, twin flashes of orange briefly overtaking them as he drained half of his reserve in that very moment of powering to his feet. The resulting shock briefly stunning Mei, both mentally and physically, as Joseph connected with a stiff left hook to her gut. It wasn't hard enough to knock her could, not with all the adrenaline through her veins. However, it certainly turned her fight or flight reaction into much more of the later as she landed back on her feet like a cat. She then sped away before Joseph could land another decisive blow on her, she just hoped to God that the other didn't have a way to track her as she did so.

In the observation area, a couple of the remaining members were wanting to avert their eyes, the barbaric fighting trigger one too many bad memories, but there was something inherently mesmerizing about it. Like a car crash in motion, it was impossible to tear your gaze from it, even if you knew the people inside were burning.

Yua, compared to the rest of the members, was eating it up with the most joy out of any of them. The rushing brutality of Joseph's barrage and the slightly less brutal, but still equally painful looking comeback of Mei should've put a damper on her spirt, instead she was once again tugging on her dad's overcoat with a big grin on her face "Can I go next, Dad?! Please, please, please! It's so hard watching everyone else have fun without me, just look at Devil boy! He seems to be having the time of his life!"

Not caring for the glares being directed towards his "daughter" Subaru knelt down to Yua, patting her on the head in the process "Don't worry your cute little head, Yua dear. I'm sure I can figure something out very soon…" Ignoring the silent cries of nepotism that were almost certainly going on behind his back, the clown like coordinator lifted the young girl onto his shoulders. "Now, could you tell me something wrong with Jo-chan's attack, Yua?"

Her eyes laser focused as she remembered how Mei stumbled and crawled in an effort to rise to her feet, Yua scanned the area with incredible detail, picking up on the most minute details that most people would fail to spot even if it punched them in the face. Such things as body language, position in the alleyway, area of attack, and only when she got to that last thought did she figure it out. "Oh! I see, Dad! Wow, he's really not very good at it, is he?"

"I wouldn't be as harsh as that, but I'm glad you saw it too. You're a real smartie, aren't you?" Subaru cooed, it wasn't as if the now disgusted glances were going to do anything to stop him from enjoy how wonderful his "daughter" was. "Would anyone else like to notice just what Jo-chan did wrong here?"

Before anyone else could lift a finger, Arius, presently leaning back against the wall with his eyes shut, decided now would be a wonderful time to open his mouth. "Lemme guess, the guy's an arrogant SOB who thought that just because he can throw a good punch that it means he knows what he's doing? Plus, guy doesn't seem to know his ass from his elbow when it comes to how to fight with more than his fist. Am I right or am I right?"

"Nishishishishishi! That's right, Ari-chan!" Subaru snickered, dropping Yua down to the ground carefully. "You see, while he might look like he's beating the hell out of her, he's probably the one that has taken the most damage. He may hit hard, but without purpose all that really means is that he's wasting movement and the energy he's stored. If you look a little ol' Mei, she's more focused on hitting him where it counts. This whole fight is like a shotgun blast against a sniper's bullet, if you really get down to it." He explained, ditching the clownish voice and persona for just a split second as he did so. His voice dipping down to a deeper, more enraptured kind of tone, his tongue nearly falling out of his mouth to lick his lips in the process. Everything was working out just as had been planned, sometimes his genius… It was almost frightening. Not that he was arrogant about it or anything!

Back in the battlefield, Mei had earned her brief reprieve. Her tired body, she had to be extremely careful not to overwork herself, was crouched in the darkest corner of this place she had found. Alleyways, despite being plentiful and an ideal place to hide, were likely now going to be checked from bottom to top. Plus, they were much too narrow for her to get any advantage in a fight.

Her breathing became increasingly ragged, heaving one gulp of air in after another in effort to clear her head. One time of Joseph getting up and she might have understood, maybe his Quirk increased his resiliency and maybe she didn't hit hard enough, but the second time made no sense whatsoever! Mei was never one for direct confrontation, frankly she was absolutely dreadful at it when push came to shove, but she knew her pressure points and she knew them like the back of her hand. It was infeasible that he still stood after that second kick and knee combo, his neck must be the equivalent of a stampede of elephants being run over by a steamroller and then having a humpback whale fall on top of all of it for effect!

Far away from where Mei was, almost on the other side of the city, Joseph cracked his neck. Mei had gotten in more than her fair share of damage, and it was extremely painful to deal with. Simply moving his head from side to side was a herculean task.

Searching around, he could still see the flaming trail marks made by Mei's flames, however, he could not find any source of the girl herself. Theoretically, she could still be hiding anywhere, and Joseph wasn't going to make the same mistake twice as he now checked above him as well to the side. Knowing the Quirk she had was invaluable information for the next part, there was still little doubt in his mind that he would power his way to victory.

That was until…

Until…

Until…

Until Joseph found where the trails of purple flames led, what they directed him towards, what he had initially tried to shrug off as if it were a hallucination. The flames stood there, the sneer of the devil curling into their being, the small embers enticing him forward like a beckoning hand as if he were always meant to return to this place….

Of course, he was meant to return here…

He was ALWAYS meant to return here.

Why was he being so stupid in ignoring the simplest of orders?

The place was just about as destroyed as he remembered it. Whilst the front end of the building had been restored, the entire inside had been turned into a scene out of a Serbian film. There was rubble everywhere in sight, the walls peeling back as if they were running away and then suffocating from toxic fumes. The whole place made Joseph's throat seize up, his windpipe feeling like it was drowning in oxygen, and no matter how much the teen scrapped at it and attempted to heave a breath in the swirling vortex his world was becoming.

As he stalked in further, each step was like another step on the descent to hell, like there was a million tiny knifes being stabbed into him with each time he dragged his legs to keep moving. It was almost like he was trying to walk underwater on land, the ground functioning more like quicksand with his feet sinking in at every moment. The earth threatening to swallow him whole.

"What a disappointment…"

He could still hear those voices, he could still feel every single syllable of the hatred lacing them ram down his eardrums and into his stomach.

It made him want to scream.

He would've done so, only if there wasn't an invisible hand with perfectly manicured fingers gliding over his mouth. Another slimy hand crawling up his back, caressing his body in what was supposed to be a loving touch but was really anything but.

"Come on, you don't want to do that, do you? Even one moment of weakness is enough for everything to come unstuck. Just remember, you'll always be back here… You're here forever, and nothing is going to change that."

Her voice was omnipresent, a nightmare that was never going to end. Like this place, her voice was always going to haunt him till the day he died. Mere mention could throw him into a foetal state. Much like how he presently found himself.

Joseph was curled on the ground, reflexively crawling across the dusty, cracked, shattered ground. Frankly, he was not in a state to even continue. He seemed much more like a lost child silently crying out for help he knew would never come. His throat still crushed, his body broken and his mind shattered by the weight of the surrounding area.

The observation deck was totally black on what was going on, Subaru had ushered them away from any one of the screens showing the fight the second Joseph had entered the building. There was no way he was going to allow them to see what was going on, this was for his eyes only. He had spent all night thinking these situations up, he deserved to see the fruits of his labour.

Being the one-person bar Subaru that did see this occur, Mei couldn't believe her eyes. The teen that had just used her as a punching bag less than two minutes ago was currently crawling on his hands and knees. He didn't seem to notice her, even as she entered his vision. Waving a hand in front of his face did nothing either, his eyes were so unfocused it would be a miracle if there was the slightest indication they were working.

Pang of pain shot through Mei. She had just run into the first place she could find, she didn't mean for it be like this. It was heart-breaking to see someone else reduced to a shell the second something bad was shown to them, she could only assume that, just like where she spawned in, Joseph had history with this place.

As the flames coalesced around her knees and shins, it was guilt that ran through her this time. She felt really bad taking advantage of him when he was like this, it felt like she was drop kicking a toddler, however, she had to do this in order to win. There was really no other way to do it.

Circling back behind him, right where the neck she had been targeting was being presented to her like an open goal, Mei took a breath as she steadied herself. Within the next ten seconds, it would be all over and she would be able to get him the help he deserved.

Rushing forward, she slammed both her knees into Joseph's neck. More cracks, more sounds of snapping, more destruction of the functional stability. If there was even so much as another blow to that area, it was very possible that Joseph was going to be a paralysed from the neck down no matter how strong the rest of his body was.

Of course, being too deep within his own twisted world, Joseph made no move to stop the attack. The front of his head, combined with his horns, dug deep into the floor in front of him. His forehead a particularly afflicted areas, the location now gushing with blood that mixed in beautifully with his demonic skin tone.

Additionally, he could make no move to stop Mei as she piled more and more stuff on top of him. She had learned her lesson from the previous times and the previous fights, it wasn't simply enough to get them down. You had to keep these people down with everything you had at your disposal.

Mei just so happened to have an entire room at her disposal to bury Joseph under, and that's exactly what she did. Everything she could lay her hands on added to the burial, cinder blocks, busted chairs, trapdoors, barricades, even a few hypodermic needles that were lying about for whatever reason. The increasing weight crushing Joseph whole, the only thing that would've been needed to certify this grave was a tombstone.

The ebony haired girl could hear Subaru's count begin the second she finished pilling everything on top of him. Desperate to see an end to it, as much for Joseph's well-being as well as her own, that wound in her back wasn't getting any smaller by itself, Mei mimicked the count in her own head. Hoping to God that she had won, that scene she had seen looked awful.

Joseph was still dead to all of it, too lost within the nightmare called reality. However, as more and more his body was consumed by the rubble pile, as more and more of the weight of this place landed on him and attempted to crush him whole.

He refused to let it be the end.

"…The end for me… Not for you… Wear this, it'll keep you safe…"

There was a reason he had come here, there was a reason his mother had told him that she would be in safe hands here. That was in spite of the veritable circus it looked like it was. Still, everything that had been done for him would be for naught if he fell at the first hurdle.

Powered on by an almighty yell, he could feel the remaining storage of his electricity sap from his body as it started to turn back to white. Mei, not so stupid as to force herself on top of the collection of rubble, furniture and other assorted burial implements, took more than a few steps back as she saw the whole pile turn into nothing but ash as the lightning atomized it whole.

Rising to his feet at the count six, the spare energy that he had left swirling around his body like a veritable tornado of punishment heading Mei's way. For the briefest moment, Mei could've sworn that the black sclera was fully consumed by his orange irises, everything being consumed like she was staring into the face of Satan himself.

Even if she could've reacted in time, if she could allow some of her flames to pour out in a desperate defensive effort to at least keep him off of her, it was highly unlikely that would've even mattered. The best way to describe a one Joseph Weaver was that he had become a man possessed. It was different to the first time his kill-switch had been flipped, that was a personal matter known only to a select few. This time, he was going to carry out his orders, and he would be damned if he let such a fragile thing like his own body get in the way of it.

Striking Mei hard in the gut with a lightning infused blow, one that was definitely be leaving Mei with a mass of internal injuries just in her lower body alone and also one that left her coughing up a stream of blood, it was only another split second before a kick to the back of her head had Mei on the ground and reeling in pain. She just hopped to whatever God was out there that that part of her Quirk wouldn't activate… Not when she had come so far!

Not giving her anytime to even scream, Joseph immediately went back to waling on her with anything he could lay his hands on. Cinder blocks? Check. Medical equipment? Check. Metal pipes? Check. If it existed, it was probably part of the visceral beatdown. No matter how many times Mei tried to summon up her flames, or even the courage to fight back properly, Joseph pounded her into submission with blow after blow. As if the hole in her back from his horn wasn't already a big enough issue, there was a more likely chance that she would be rocking black and blue as her skin colour for the foreseeable future.

However, Joseph still wasn't done.

The brutality of the situation playing out left the observation deck paused in real time. Yua had been able to beckon Subaru away from blocking the monitor, and with them all crowed around it, they couldn't help but either throw up, if they were of a weaker disposition, or growl at the sight of such wanton violence being unleased. Sure, they were told that they could do anything they wanted, but they had at least expected the Furfur Quirk user to not turning his fellow Foundation member into a human punching bag!

As the observation deck was busy watching, Joseph had picked up a particularly nasty, sharp, spiky, deadly looking blade. The only purpose of its existence was to inflict pain, and as Joseph charged it with the last vestiges of his electricity, he stabbed the corners of it into Mei's mouth. Forcing her to bite down on the spiky, corroded metal. To make matters worse, as soon as it was forced in, Joseph began pulling back on her body. Her head came backwards while her chest was pushed out in front of her, the lightning, blade enhanced cross-face was locked in and it was locked in as tight as Fort Knox.

Instantly, Mei was slamming her hand on the ground, submitting to the extraordinary pressure and pain that was pushing her to her absolute breaking point. There was a lot that had happened in her life, things that many of the others here had likely experienced themselves. Betrayal by those you thought loved you, loss of the ones you loved. However, it was unlikely any of them had experienced the very thing she was now desperately trying to stop from happening.

Mei's submission, however, meant nothing in the rules of engagement and meant nothing to Joseph. Joseph was going to wrench her until both of them were unconscious. No matter how much energy he had to expand, he was going to win this no matter the consequences and the collateral damage.

Subaru, having bullied his way back to the monitor, could see the submission take place, and some part of him wanted to call the whole thing there. However, the large side of his brain continued to yell at him to let it slide to see what would happen. Niijima-sama had been insistent that this was to be like every other intake they did, they were coming out with the shield or on it. In this case, it seemed like both of them were about to collapse the second it was over.

In fact, it only took less than four seconds for Mei to find into unconsciousness, her body slumping forward as the stretch marks, burns, and slashes from the lightning powered bladed submission cut into her cheeks. Another six seconds later, she was unable to reach her feet, still knocked out to high hell and prone on the floor of the building that now began to dissipate.

Joseph, meanwhile, felt the choking device he had been using fall away and collapsed to his knees. He was heaving breath after beath, his chest constricting in a weird way every single time more oxygen wafted its way in. His eyes remained locked to the ground, not looking towards Mei as sweat began to pour off of his normal skin tone. It took another couple of seconds for him to clock the girl he had just sent into an unprompted sleep.

Having to first make sure he wasn't going to go head over ass as he tried to stand up, Joseph shuffled his way towards Mei and lightly tapped her on the back of her head. A brief glance over her back made him grimace ever so slightly, he had really gone far, hadn't he?

Well, at least he didn't kill her…

…Did he?

She hadn't responded when he touched her. He hadn't hit her that hard, right?

His mind briefly went back to the card he had been dealt by Subaru before he came out here. If there was some cynical part of his brain at work in the very moment, he would've been suspecting that maybe, just maybe, there was some kind of ploy by that walking clown. However, he was much too concerned by the fact Mei still hadn't replied to his touch. "…Are you okay?" Even in his monotone, there was the briefest crack that showed the inner turmoil he was going through even as his face remained as stationary as a statue.

Oh God…

Oh God…

Oh God no!

"You don't need to worry about that." Joseph hadn't heard Kyte stalk in behind them, but one turn on his heel and he was face to face with the vampiric man. Instinctively, remembering their first encounter, he took multiple steps back. He was too close! Too close!

What wasn't helping him, beyond the fact his neck was likely shattered in multiple places, was that leering voice playing in his head. The sound forcing him to pound the side of his head in a vain attempt to stop its devilish ways.

"Ohohoho~, you know something? Daddy would be so proud of you if he were still here! You're going to be something special, you just need more time. Just always remember three things…"

"She's alive." Kyte stated, folding his arms across his chest. "Trust me, I know a dead Sweathog when I see one. Just let me get her to the infirmary and then we'll see." Tossing Mei over his shoulder like he was carrying a sack, the vampire turned away, however, not before he gave one final message "Additionally, you might want to check in yourself, I don't want to be liable to one of the kids under my care becoming paralysed."

Oh… Oh yeah. Yeah, Joseph instantly knew what Kyte was talking about. Maybe it was the fact that as the adrenaline faded from his veins, maybe it was the fact the could no longer feel anything in his hands, maybe it was seeing said red hands shake and tremble, or maybe it was the fact that only now was his body paying for the immense strain.

Whereas before he had been able to dart away from Kyte, this time he could scarcely pull his legs up out of the slowly sinking sand that the floor became. His whole body just felt numb now, but it didn't stop his mind from going absolutely ballistic at the prospect of Kyte touching him.

There was just no way he could allow it!

Even if his entire body had shut down and he was on the verge of unconsciousness, he had to find some way to stop it from happening! He couldn't kill someone else! No! He just couldn't let it happen, it wa-.

"Are you done yet?" Kyte asked him, having stopped at the entrance doors. A look that seemed to straddle the line between pissed off and concerned etched across his pale features. "I'm only going to say this once, so get it through your head, Weaver. You accepted a position here, I don't know what you think you'll get out of us, but I know what I will get out of you. Now, you can either collapse here or you ca-"

Kyte didn't get to finish his sentence, fewer than three words had passed his lips after mentioning collapse and Joseph was already acquainting himself with the ground. Sighing as he walked back over to the collapsed Furfur user, at least now that he was out of the world of consciousness Joseph would be a lot easier to carry to the infirmary. "Subaru, start the selection process, but don't start the fight until I get back!"

Flashing a thumbs up and a toothy grin from the observation deck, Subaru was more than happy to fulfil the wishes of the next two up as his superior slammed the door behind him with more force than what was probably needed.

Turning to his own group with the same grin, Subaru could only just hold in his excitement. There was still more than half of them still to go out and give him the greatest entertainment he had had all year. The golden armed horror show, his adorable baby girl, the loli chimera, some edgelord with shaggy, brown hair, who had been standing the corner and brooding for god knows how long no matter how much Subaru had tried to make some kind of conversation with him. Well, they were pretty cutesy under that grime anyway~.

The others, he couldn't really get a read of.

Some male kid he had been unable to peg looked more like an animal than anyone he had ever seen. Granted, Subaru hadn't really been the adventurous type ever since Yua entered his life, but it was still impressive. A pair of cuffs, quite large ones at that, had been clamped around his wrists, it would likely leave quite the impression on his skin. Well, it would've been skin if he looked anything like a human. Despite the humanoid stance, Subaru retained his insistence that they had taken in a Quirked animal as opposed to a human. Covered from head to toe in soft lavender fur, a batch of eminence purple fur on the top of his head clearly being the sign of what was supposedly his hair. Moving that aside, he had a lithe body with a pair of long cat ears and a medium-length tail, which didn't help his case in Subaru's eyes. His nails and teeth were slightly sharper than the average human's, and frankly that was just something that only made the coordinator even more convinced that he was right. However, what struck a big line through that idea, was what appeared to be the actual Quirk. In his forehead, on the back of his hands, and poking through specifically made trainers, a collection of gems, ones that Subaru assumed to be rubies, sparkled in the light. Subaru couldn't help but wonder how much they were actually worth. Still, he couldn't let himself get distracted by shiny objects, that was something he had long overcome.

On the other hand, there was this one girl, just about a half inch taller than his own "daughter", with long, lower-back length black hair which was pinned with a special red camellia hair pin and as straight as could be, her bangs were cut just as bluntly and hanged just above her eyes. Her sidelocks stopped just at the middle of her chest, with small black hair ties being the culprit. Done in such a way that caused it to bunch up towards the top, just beside her cheeks. Her fair skin was mixed in with the sight of her sharp, somewhat down-turned, purple eyes. Alongside two moles, or beauty spots if you wanted to be generous, just beneath them. It was trailing over her actual clothing, a light, thigh-length, black haori-style jacket with reds around the collar and inner edges - the edges also having a gold floral-style pattern, a back spaghetti-strap top, a pair of faded blue jean shorts that ended at her upper thighs, and a pair of red and white high tops, that Subaru realised the traditional flair about her whole look. Well, if you discounted the obviously toned body that didn't seem so traditional when one though about it. 'Maybe her… I'd love to see what she's got hidden up her sleeve…'

Either way, it was going to be mighty interesting who he decided to pair her up with. The odd number of people in the intake this year had nixed the traditional screening process, forcing them to resort to this arcane way of picking the groups. However, Subaru wasn't the best there was, the best there is, and the best there ever will be, for no reason whatsoever.

In fact, Subaru hadn't spent an entire night going over everyone's files and not come up with a plan of attack. That was why his eyes very quickly fell upon another girl, one that had been notably detached, even more so than Joseph was. It wasn't like she was monotone but interested like the devil teen. Instead, she just seemed cold, at least the others, despite their frosty relationships, had a reason for not really interacting that much. It wasn't like this girl, she just felt and acted like she didn't want to deal with anything here.

She didn't seem like the type to be an Ice Queen, she was quite short, not as short as the chimera girl, standing at about 5'2 with snowy white hair that was moulded into the quintessential Hime cut with cheek-length sidelocks and a frontal fringe. It bled quite nicely into her pale skin and icy blue eyes. Oh, and the blue, white horns that were just beginning to poke out of her forehead, and the white scales that took refugee underneath her eyes. Yeah, that made Subaru really perk up when looking at her file the other night. It wasn't often that someone came around with a Quirk like hers, and it was quite stunning how many of the new residents of the Foundation had mutant appearances at the very least.

Apart from that, her clothes were fairly none descript. A plain black turtleneck jumper with sleeves that nearly covered her hands, denim jeans that looked like they had faded over time, and a pair of white combat boots that were flecked with black accents.

After a few more moments of surveying his group, Subaru laughed. A cackle that Yua knew all too well and one that the new residents would soon come to fear. '…Yes. That's it. You're a genius, Subaru Fujinaga!' Slapping the wheel no more than three times, he brought everyone's attention away from what had just happened and towards him. "Nishishihsihsi! Well then, looks like little Mei bit off a little more than she could chew! Hahahahaha~! Anyway, my beloved students, we're about to find out who's going to follow up that barnbuster! On top of that, call me an idiot if you will, but I have just the slightest feeling like I know who's going to be up next!"

And once more the wheel spun. One person already knowing the outcome.

'Ugh… What the hell is going on…?' The pounding headache and wooziness, as if he had just gotten the mother of all hangovers, Kagekatsu woke up to was just about one of the last things on his list that he wanted to deal with today. Right up there with getting his clock cleaned to high hell by a girl with a Quirk that could turn her into a werewolf.

The second the fox boy even tried to lean forward; he could feel all those stiches that had been sewn into him a thousand-fold. It felt like just moving anything that wasn't his head was going to tear them out of his body. How the hell did a girl like that hit so damn hard? If Kagekatsu was really honest with himself, the reason was pretty obvious why no matter how much he wanted to try and deny it. However, it took nothing away from just how much of a beast that Hisumi girl really was. It had been at least five or so years since he had been hit by something that hard, his jaw wasn't going to let him forget that particular encounter, but this was rivalling it and giving it a very good run for its money.

Cranking his head sideways, Kagekatsu then noticed the other people that had since joined him in being trapped in this place, a place that no doubt had some of the shittiest architecture he had ever seen in his life, because this whole place was just a veritable mess that would turn the world's greatest architect insane in just about five seconds flat.

With an incredibly long bed, one that stretched so much longer than Kagekatsu's own one just for even just one of the legs to fit on, Fukuro sat and the fox boy baulked when he saw what was still lodged in his chest. "…The fuck?" His throat was horse, he'd probably been under for a good while now, he didn't even recall moving here in the first place. He'd likely collapsed the second he touched the door handle, that was something he was more than certain to do on numerous occasions.

Hearing the voice beside him, Fukuro snapped his head 90 degrees and once more gave Kagekatsu an image he was never going to forget. It was just so goddamn freaky to see someone's head be on a separate pivot altogether! "Oh, thank God! You're finally awake! Nakamura, was it? I saw you as I came in here, the doctor taking care of you looked really busy and you looked like you took some beating, I hope you don't take that last part the wrong way, though!"

Before Kagekatsu could make a stab at even attempting to register Fukuro's words, it was voice of Hisumi from the other side of him that got in his path. "I apologise if I went too far." The girl in question was definitely the less damaged over the three, luckily enough, she was clothed. Although, if he was keeping true to himself, that event never happened, so he shouldn't even be commenting on it. On top of her new set of clothes, ones picture perfect to her previous look. she had a simple head bandage tied around the part of her body in question to stem the bleeding. There was also a neck brace on, more than likely as a precautionary measure. If Kagekatsu remembered correctly, One Final Beat had a really nasty habit of injuring not just the skull, but also the neck due to the way all the pressure in the victim's body crashed down on their head. Some part of him absolutely wished that were the case, though. It was about as much as she deserved to earn after what she had done to him.

"Yeah, not too far… I can only move my head, I can't feel my tail, and I have more stitches in me than Frankenstein's monster, I'm just fuckin' peachy. Just call me Kagekatsu, I don't wanna deal with all the stupid honorifics." The one solace Kagekatsu could take was that at least that fucking asshole Arius wasn't here, things would be a hell of a lot more unbearable if he had to deal with that smug face leering over him.

On the one hand, Hisumi said nothing, turning away from the abrasive fox boy with a look of cold disinterest. She was seemingly in thought if the way her eyes narrowed over so slightly were anything to go by, but it was clear that she hadn't deemed anything she could have said to be appropriate to the situation.

Fukuro, on the other hand, seemed a bit more taken aback by Kagekatsu's snappy reply, shuffling back a bit on the gurney, and settling into an uncomfortable silence after speaking back meekly. "O-Oh, okay then… Sorry if I hit a nerve…"

Oh God, what was it with giant people always making him feel bad when he snapped back them? Kagekatsu could have sworn that it was like a curse that followed him about, what was it with tall people and being able to manipulate emotions so well? At least to him it was a conspiracy, nothing to do with his own self-admitted lack of tact. Still, looking at how the owlbear had reacted churned something inside of the fox boy, and he couldn't hack being silent anymore.

"Look, I'm so-" And because he was born with a hidden -30 luck stat, Kagekatsu was interrupted by the door slamming open with a disgustingly violent kick. The form of a one Kyte Niijima stormed through, Joseph and Mei slung over his shoulders in an even more haphazard way than when he left the fight pit. Kagekatsu and the rest gulped as they saw his expression, the narrowed eyes and the slight peak of his fangs. Bad would be an understatement to describe the vampire's mood.

"Fauser! Get out here now!" Wow, he was not happy in the slightest. Those words were spat with nothing but pure disgust, and the conscious trio was very much wondering just what had him in such a virulent mood.

As soon as the venom had been spat, there was a sound from another corner of the room that was followed by a loud crash and sound of desperate footsteps. An area that looked decrepit and worn to high hell, equipment that had been destroyed and bent out of shape, failed monitors, and possibly even a couple of organ boxes if this place really decided that GBH was an official policy of theirs.

Bursting through that messy area, "Fauser" made his appearance and the trio instantly recognised who it was, Hisumi and Fukuro having been too focused on thinking over what had happened in their fights and their own injuries to be properly paying attention. It was the man who had been waiting for them at the entrance of the place. "What isssssss itttttt, Niiiiijiiimaaaa-samaaaaaa?"

Oh wow, that voice was a lot more grating now that they had had their heads used as pinballs.

Regarding the man in front of him with a look of contempt, the corner of his lips curling back into an almost snarl, Kyte didn't waste time in simply dumping the two bodies he was carrying right on top of Fauser. "One's passed out, the other needs some stiches on her face and back, and maybe a blood bag. That's it. You are not to do anything funny, do you understand? I already have to deal with Subaru, I don't want to deal with you as well!"

Nodding his head, broad smile on his face despite the overt threat, Fauser responded "Yesssss, Sirrrrrrr!" He was holding up quite well with the fact he had had to catch two lumps of dead weight, in fact he was acting like this quite the normal thing to happen. That fact alone made shivers run down the spines of the conscious trio.

If looks could kill, Kyte would be a genocidal dictator by now. It looked as if he was considering the best way to rip Fauser's head clean off and spill as little blood as possible. However, much to the surprise of every new member watching, the blue haired man did nothing and instead, with a sneer, turned his back on all of them. "Good." With that, Kyte had departed as soon as he had arrived, no fanfare and no blood spilled.

His departure caused a breath that they didn't realise they were holding to be released. Even if nothing had happened and he made no move, there was still a killer presence about the man known to them as Kyte Niijima, like he could explode at any moment if someone didn't follow him to a tee.

His words from before shone in a bright new light now with the reveal of their attendant. Kagekatsu might have been straddling the line between being dead and alive, but Hisumi could easily remember the warning that Kyte had given about this person. "I wouldn't go bleeding that much around Fauser" was what he had said. Then there was that mention of "funny" business. It was honestly a little frightening.

The smile they were being thrown didn't really calm their nerves either. Kagekatsu, if he was able, would've been on the other side of the room. Fukuro was merely hoping that none of this supposed "funny business" was going to happen. Hisumi, meanwhile, still seemed to be looking at the whole thing with a kind of cold detachment, perfectly serene despite the invading aura of terror.

Placing Joseph and Mei as far apart from each other as possible, Joseph on the far left and Mei on the far right, Fauser wiped off the accumulated blood that had collect on his outfit from the massive bleeding scar that was penetrating Mei's face. "Looooooksssss likeeeee weeee had aaaaa streeeeetttt fighttttt, alright!" His voice was really unsettling now that they listened closer, as if it were the painful cacophony of thousands of voices screaming out for help together. It was probably why it sounded as if his words were echoed. "Nooooo neeedddd to be afraid, Iiiii ammmmm Sateriasis Fauserrrrrrr, welcomeeeeee to myyyyyy infirmaryyyyy! You pooooorrrrrr unfortunate souls!"

Oh, this was going to be so much fun.