Hello again, everyone. After the fiasco of last week, going through editing several chapters throughout the Hokkaido Arc, both minuscule and major, it feels really good to be back on track, and just carrying the narrative forward. It's hard to gauge what you all thought of last week's chapter; which I'll admit is a bit disappointing, because I really want to know what you all think of my writing for fight scenes with certain characters, especially the Class B characters, since I know a good deal of them have their dedicated fans as well, and I want to give the spotlight to characters that are unfairly overlooked when and where I can.
In the process of planning the future chapters for this Arc, I recently decided to change the title of Chapter 72 in relation to two future chapters, just for the sake of avoiding any confusion among newcomers or people returning.
Anyway, if you like what you read here today, please be kind and leave an honest review.
My Hero Academia is the property of Kouhei Horikoshi and Shonen Jump. I only own my original characters, the original events surrounding them, and the alterations of established events that occur because of them.
A/N: [[]] indicates that characters are contextually speaking Russian.
Chapter 76
Tunnel Rats
(Туннельные Крысы)
Sapporo, Hokkaido, Friday September 12th
"GET OUTTA MY WAY, YOU DAMN IDIOTS! I'LL RUN YOU OVER IF YOU DON'T!"
The voice of the single adult man in a ski mask who was spouting this threat to all the bystanders in his way, echoed up and down the busy street in downtown Sapporo, as the large yet thin wheels protruding from his hips where his legs should have been, carried him farther and faster than any pair of regular feet could, especially with the weight of two full burlap sacks of money slung over his shoulders.
For the last couple of minutes he had carried on fleeing like this, swerving up and down and across numerous sidewalks and even over the faces of several cars when the crowds of bystanders were too thick to get out of the way. And every time he made any kind of turn or move, he was looking anxiously over his shoulder to make sure he wasn't still being followed. After a minute, though, he was grinning proudly to himself, all but certain he'd finally given his pursuers the slip, and none too soon as well, for his eyes soon spied a descending staircase into an alleyway just up ahead.
With a piercing screech, he swerved and turned down into the shadows of the alley, just about ready to start laughing triumphantly to himself, especially as he was about to reach the other end of the alley.
"NOT SO FAST THERE, VILLAIN! YOU CAN'T LOSE US THAT EASILY!" A booming and authoritative voice all but exploded in the Villain's face just before he reached the alley exit, nearly throwing himself backwards and onto his back as his exit was suddenly intercepted by a white armor-clad figure that came in as fast as a bolt of lightning, blocking his way.
With his head ringing, the Villain found himself looking upon the tall and imposing helmet and mask-clad figure in white that he didn't know was specifically Tenya Iida, who had long since taken a roundabout route to cut off his money-lifting quarry after it had become apparent that he was much faster than he had looked.
And the Villain was already more than happy to prove that fact, as he threw his body weight and ran his wheels at full speed, practically driving on the vertical walls themselves in order to make the hairpin turn he needed to make a complete about face for freedom. "JUST LEAVE ME ALONE, YOU DAMN BRAT!"
Just before he could get back out the alley at the top of the stairs, he found his body suddenly slamming into a man-shaped solid obstruction from out of nowhere, slamming square into the center of his chest and knocking him flat on the stairs once again, wheezing for breath.
"HE'S NOT THE ONLY BRAT YOU GOTTA WORRY ABOUT AROUND HERE, Y'KNOW!" An especially rough and aggressive teenage boy's voice declared with just as much energy as Tenya himself. Once the Villain's vision stopped spinning and he could look up the stairs again, he now found himself cut off the way he had come as well, this time being stared down upon by a boy with short grey hair, sharp teeth and actual iron skin; dressed in a dark green jumpsuit that cut off at his waist, lined with silver-rimmed holes, black steel-plated boots, steel straps that went over his shoulders and under his arms (with one more strap set around each of his biceps) which were joined at the center by a red oval, and a metal jaw guard that lined the sides of his snarling face, with the letters 'Fe' printed on both sides.
And at his side stood a shorter but bravely smiling young girl with long blonde hair, a round face with a short equine muzzle, large round dark blue eyes, and dressed in a horse halter around her head, an orange skintight shirt with pale marks around her chest and stomach, matching colored pants, a pair of fingerless gloves, dark belts around her collarbone, biceps and lower torso, and large boots on hoof-shaped feet with stirrups on the sides.
"You have nowhere left to run, Villain! Make it easy on yourself and simply surrender!" This new voice that came thundering in from up above was far deeper and almost regal-sounding in its sheer power and authority, drawing the trembling thief's eyes up to the top of the alley, just in time to see a large man-shaped object plummeting down towards him, earning a high-pitched scream of shock just before it finally came landing down on the ground just in front of him; punctuated by another fierce and cheerful -sounding cheer respectively from the sharp-toothed boy and blonde-haired girl now behind this new arrival: "NOW YOU'RE IN FOR IT!" "YEAH, SHOW 'IM WHAT YA GOT, SENSEI!"
Of course, even if the boy known as Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu and the girl known as Pony Tsunotori hadn't referred to this man as their sensei, anyone in Sapporo would have been able to recognize this new face in a heartbeat; he was only one of the most popular Pro Heroes in this area, after all: a veritable mountain of a man who could have easily stood shoulder-to-shoulder with towering Heroes like All Might, Endeavor and Tunguska, dressed in what looked like a Medieval European style suit of knight's armor, except that it was made entirely of meteor rock.
This was the Asteroid Hero, the leader of Sapporo's Kawakusei Hero Agency, and personal mentor to the three Yuuei students present: Knightfall.
"Oh, hell no! You're not taking me in that easy, goddammit!" There was both rage and desperation evident in the Villain's voice as his wheel legs kicked into overdrive, screeching loud as he threw his body backwards away from Knightfall's imposing frame, before turning himself around and driving himself directly up the wall just as Tenya began to give chase.
WHAM!
From out of nowhere, a pair of the same light-colored curved horns that Pony had upon her head came flying through the air, nailing the fleeing Villain in his sides and knocking him right off the wall ("HORN CANNON! Yeah, that's whatcha get!"), freefalling before the stone ground below suddenly sprang up like permeable clay, catching him mid-fall and just as quickly wrapping itself around like a giant shackle, leaving the Villain finally immobilized, while Knightfall stopped focusing his Stonemason Quirk and instead clapped his hands in light applause for his three interns.
"Excellent quick thinking and planning, Ingenium-kun, Real Steeel-kun, Rocketti-chan!" The Asteroid Hero congratulated them all after breaking the stalk of the stone restraint around the Villain, hauling it over his shoulder and following the three teens back out onto the street.
"Yeah, that look of pants-shitting terror on his face when we showed up was amazing, but when you dropped in, Sensei, that was a hundred times cooler! I can only hope to make Villains fear me like that!" Tetsutetsu boasted and admired his teacher all at once, before Tenya hurriedly stepped in; his helmet's mask hiding the discerning look on his face.
"To be completely honest though, Knightfall-sensei; I had no idea his Quirk would be able to help him up vertical surfaces as well! With that head start his distance from both our sides provided, it would've been difficult for either of us to efficiently pursue. We have Tsunotori-san to thank for this, ultimately."
Tetsutetsu and Knightfall both clearly agreed with the rigid young man, as all eyes quickly fell upon Pony, with an accompanying applause and calls of praise for her quick thinking, leaving the blonde horned girl grinning brightly. "Aww, ya guys, thanks! I just saw how narrow da alley was, and just thought if he tried ta run still, it would hafta be up da walls, so my Horn Cannons just seemed like da perfect choice."
With a hearty laugh of amusement, Knightfall responded: "Well, regardless whether all three of you were fully aware of each other's strategies from the start, depending where your pursuit brought you, is a matter we can focus on helping you all cultivate from here on. For now, though, take pride in the fact that none of you hesitated to act, and particularly to work together, once danger was apparent. That courage and drive to do what we all know is right is a fundamental part of becoming Heroes, and you've all demonstrated that in spades this morning. Now let's get this hooligan over to the police and get back. Rule-chan is undoubtedly waiting patiently for us."
After doing so, and returning the Villain to the custody of the waiting police, the three Hero interns and their teacher made their way back, this time with both money bags their target had tried to flee with, back to their original post for the day: a moderate-sized but still pretty lively-looking cultural festival lined with numerous different stands. And just as Knightfall had predicted: standing at the far end of the festival row with all the silent patience in the world, was Class 1-B's Yui Kodai, or Rule, as her Hero name had been chosen, just as Tetsutetsu had picked Real Steel for himself, and Pony had gone with Rocketti. The silent black-haired female student's Hero costume consisted of a simple red bodysuit with a white collar trim, a white V-shaped pattern running down her chest and around her upper arms, a short white skirt with a red design at the front, dipping to match the pattern on her chest; tall white shoes, plain vambraces, a red-and-white baseball cap-resembling hat with a metal fin-shaped object attached to the back; all finally finished up with little white straps around her shoulders with a small oval-shaped yellow gem at the center of her collar, and a white belt around her waist lined with small white pouches.
It had only made sense for Knightfall to expect her to simply wait here for her teacher and fellow interns' return instead of joining them in their chase, since their light-footed Villain hadn't been working alone, but she had taken quick care of his partner; having long since pinned him down under a greatly enlarged wooden prayer talisman from the local shrine this festival had been sponsored by.
Upon the Heroes' overall reunion, Knightfall was quick to return the bags of stolen money to the visibly overjoyed festival organizers. "Oh, bless you, Knightfall-san, we were so worried we'd lost all these donations for good!" "Yes, if we couldn't get the amounts we were hoping for with this festival, who knows how many of the charities we were hoping to support would be left high and dry this winter?"
As he handed them back their hard-earned charity money, the Asteroid Hero gave a modest wave of his hand. "Well, you all needn't worry any longer, but it's not me you should be thanking right now. It's my young interns here who truly deserve it. It was their quick thinking all around that helped keep those criminals from getting away in the first place. I have the utmost faith Japan has some truly promising future Heroes in the making with them and the rest of their schoolmates this year."
At his word, much of the crowd began to happily applaud for his four interns, with Tenya maintaining a rigid and humble stance as he simply bowed in greeting and acknowledgment to the crowd; Pony and Tetsutetsu were both smiling and happily waving and flexing respectively; and Yui remained as visibly indifferent as she always did.
Once the applause finally came to a stop, Knightfall returned his attention to the festival organizers. "So, with this little robbery debacle having been resolved, how much more money do you need to raise today for it to be considered a success? If there's anything at all my interns and I can do to help, you need only ask."
Right away, the middle-aged woman among the bunch lit up. "Well, we've already made sure all of the attractions, games and stalls are fully stocked, and we do have the benefit of being in a rather busy part of the city, but perhaps if you could help spread some promotion around so other folks may come by, that would be so helpful, Knightfall-san."
Like a shot, the towering stone armor-clad Pro Hero turned to address his four young charges: "And I know just the perfect place to do so, as well! Everyone, look alive; we're going to Sapporo station to hand out festival flyers!"
Of course, the chance to do absolutely anything that their mentor considered worthwhile Hero work got an enthusiastic reaction out of Pony and Tetsutetsu, while Tenya's enthusiasm was disguised by his naturally rigid motions: "It'll be done with gusto and more, Sensei! After all, charity work is just as essential a part of a Hero's repertoire as civilian rescue and fighting Villains! Let us make haste, everyone!"
From the moment they had returned to the very same Sapporo train station they had first arrived from earlier this very morning, the Asteroid Hero and his four Yuuei interns instantly got to work loudly promoting the nearby charity festival further in the city, handing out pamphlets and flyers from one passerby to the next, nearly all of them tourists coming from Honshu to undoubtedly observe the changing tree colors this far north in the wake of autumn.
And of course, while Knightfall was forward yet professional, and Yui was dead silent and straightforward; Tetsutetsu and Pony were both exceptionally energetic in trying to hype people up in the hopes it would further encourage them to actually go. And even compared to their display, Tenya was still as robotic and rigid in his body language, but almost off-putting in just how over-the-top commanding he was in trying to get people's attention and direct them to said festival for the sake of charity and human kindness.
So much so that, after nearly a half hour of this, Tetsutetsu and Pony couldn't help but watch the 1-A president's display with amazement at how he was carrying on; the grey-haired boy finally uttering to himself and his horned classmate: "Man, that Iida-san really doesn't do half-measures when it comes to work, does he?"
"Right, right?! He's always so intense, I'm surprised he hasn't scared all dese people away," Pony agreed before just as quickly handing another set of pamphlets to a passing family of four with a bright smile that instantly resonated with the kids.
"I hear he not only comes from a long time Pro Hero family, but apparently his big bro got forced to retire by the Hero Killer, Stain, too. Dude's probably got a world's worth of weight on his shoulders to live up to. Probably why he inherited the guy's Hero name, too. But I guess being all professional and gung-ho's just what it takes to be good enough for Class A's president, right?" Tetsutetsu further mused, thinking back to some of the rumors he'd heard buzzing around Class 1-A shortly after the Sports Festival.
"It's not just about being good enough to be president or my brother's successor, Tetsutetsu-san!" Tenya suddenly interjected; catching him and Pony by total surprise as they hadn't expected him to actually be listening when he'd been so forward with getting his pamphlets out to the public. "To make the most of our Hero education, I've come to realize that we must all be willing to give our 120-percent in every new challenge and lesson we're faced with! Gaining experience in a variety of activities will only serve to make us all the more versatile once we step out as graduates, ready to establish ourselves as Pro Heroes of our own!
"I've seen such willingness and fiery spirit from countless other individuals at Yuuei over the course of this year; many of them I couldn't be prouder to call my colleagues and friends, just as I'm sure you must have witnessed it yourselves! I must say that I have fellows like Midoriya-san, Uraraka-san, Yaoyorozu-san, Bezpalov-san, Ashido-san, Todoroki-san and Kirishima-san in particular to thank for helping me open my eyes to what must be done to attain my fullest potential, more than I had convinced myself I needed to before."
As Tenya counted off the specific classmates he knew he had to thank most for helping to expand his perspective towards his ultimate Hero education, the moment he mentioned Eijirou's name had Tetsutetsu visibly perk up; beady downturned eyes opened wide with anticipation and drive.
"Kirishima gives his all to everything old and new we're doing out in the field like that?! No surprise there! Well if he's giving 120-percent, then I just gotta give 240! I ain't gonna let myself fall behind if he isn't!" The moment he made this declaration, Tetsutetsu looked as though he were about ready to go charging onto the trains themselves to give the pamphlets out to all the passengers, if not just go straight to the platform railing overlooking the street below, and tossing his whole armload out onto the public below for better news dispersal.
Of course, spotting this change in her classmate's demeanor made it impossible for Pony to not comment: "Wow, you got all fired up just cause a dat red spiky boy getting mentioned, Tetsu-kun? You two must have a total bromance goin' on, huh? You're so much alike, f'real."
And it was hearing her use such suggestive wording that had Tetsutetsu turn his head on a swivel, unintentionally snarling his sharp teeth towards her in protest: "The hell you talkin' about, 'bromance,' Pony-san?! It ain't anythin' like that at all! Kirishima and I are best buds, best rivals, the whole package! Nothin' more, understand?! There's a real man's respect between us! How could I not give my all so we can stand as equals when I hear he is, y'know?!"
As it became all the more clear that Tetsutetsu and Pony's respective focus was departing from the task at hand, Tenya was already halfway towards snapping at them and reminding them of their responsibilities. However, before he could actually open his mouth: "Hey, there, in the white tin can suit!"
It wasn't the derogatory description of his costume that got Tenya's attention, but rather the unmistakably familiar voice calling out to him from further down the platform, inadvertently grabbing the rest of the present Heroes' attention as well as his. Looking down the platform, Tenya was stricken with the familiar boasting laugh and brightly grinning and approaching image of the Yuuei uniform-clad, spongy pink-haired girl with yellow crosshair eyes, who was in the middle of hauling two especially large-looking suitcases behind her; the wunderkind of the Yuuei Department of Support, Mei Hatsume.
With another hearty laugh, Mei single-mindedly moved right past Tetsutetsu and Pony, coming to a skidding halt before Tenya, who was still momentarily too surprised to see her to say anything, while she was already busily looking over his costume to the finest details. "Sorry, don't remember your name, but I couldn't mistake the suit for anything else! Fancy meeting you and all these other finely-clad and equipped guys all the way out here!"
While the 1-B students were momentarily taken by surprise that this girl was simply complimenting their costume designs and equipment; Tenya was finally able to actually speak: "Again, the name is Iida Tenya, Ingenium! It's a pleasant surprise to see you again, Hatsume-san; but why exactly are you all the way up here, so far from Yuuei's Support Department?"
With a cheeky grin, Mei heartily patted her hand against one of the heavy suitcases behind her. "Believe it or not, Power Loader-sensei recommended me for a trial run internship in the Support Department at some fancy tech university up here that recently got a massive upgrade! They're saying it's the most advanced one in Hokkaido, but I'm willing to bet they've never seen anything like some of the babies I've got stocked up in here just yet! He's thinking they might be able to help me learn a thing or two, but let's see if I don't end up giving them some pointers instead!"
Mei was already chuckling in anticipation to herself, while Tenya and his fellow interns could only marvel at such sky-high confidence on her part. Of course, before either Tetsutetsu or Pony could ask what kind of gadgets she had inside, Knightfall visibly perked up with what actually looked like recognition in his body language. "A tech university with a highly advanced Support Department? I know just the place you must be referring to, young lady! Are you by chance heading to the university in Ashibetsu City?"
"Yessir, up in Sorachi Prefecture! You know it? That part of your jurisdiction, too?" Mei asked while already looking over the nearby maps for which platform she had to go to next in order to get where she was really going.
"Well, no, but it's one of the biggest campuses on Hokkaido, and for good reason. It's just rather unfortunate timing that you've come up this way to go there after what happened earlier this week." As soon as Knightfall noted this, he wasn't remotely surprised to see the looks of serious curiosity, on his interns' faces.
"What're you talkin' about, Sensei?! You never told us about something happening while we were gone!" Tetsutetsu exclaimed with growing eagerness to step in, only for the Asteroid Hero to quickly motion for him and Tenya to simmer down.
"I didn't say anything, because it was an incident outside our Agency's jurisdiction; Ashibetsu City has its own Heroes like everywhere else. But if you all really want to know: there was apparently a quick and thorough robbery of the university's chemistry labs earlier this week; all of their most advanced equipment swiped in a short enough time that it had to be the work of some kind of high-speed Quirk-using Villain."
Of course, the news of a crime being committed so bold-facedly didn't sit well with Tenya, as he already was taking a forward step with his fist clenched with determination. "Sensei, perhaps we may be able to step in and volunteer our services! Heroes must always be ready and willing to aid in the apprehension of Villains if others require such aid!"
At first, their mentor answered with a sigh of genuine disappointment: "That was my first course of action when I'd heard of it as well, Ingenium-kun. Unfortunately, the combined investigation from the local Heroes and the police offered no definitive evidence. Every single security camera in that area of the campus was systematically blacked out before a trace of the perpetrators could be recorded. Whoever they were, they clearly knew exactly what they were doing; as the investigation still currently stands dead in the water."
Pony had her hands instinctively forming into determined fists; her Hero instincts leaving her simmering at the thought of Villains actually pulling off something so heinous and getting away with it. Even Yui had her head visibly lowered; the brim of her hat hiding the slightly troubled light in her eyes. All the while, Tetsutetsu's teeth were gritting and his fists trembling. "These Villains just keep getting bolder and bolder! First the attack on the forest camp, then the fight with All Might, Tunguska-sensei and Endeavor; and now something like this? It royally pisses me off! Doesn't it piss you off too, Iida?!"
However, as Tetsutetsu turned to see if he and Tenya were indeed on the same emotional page; his simmering indignation instantly defused when he saw the Class A president's posture actually looked more pensive than anything else. "Yo, Iida, what's eating at you so much?!"
Finally realizing he was being directly spoken to, Tenya hurriedly shook his head, motioning for the others there was no need to worry. "My apologies, everyone. I was just thinking about what Sensei was saying about how this theft was carried out. It…it couldn't help but remind me of something Bezpalov-san and Ashido-san had shared with the rest of our class earlier this week, about the Quirks used by some individuals they had met during their internships.
Needless to say, it was surprising for Pony, Yui and Knightfall alike to be learning this about some of the other 1-A students they at least partially knew. However, it was Tetsutetsu who was still managing to maintain a confident smile as he gave Tenya a hearty elbow to the arm, forcing his fellow intern to look him in the eye.
"Hey, you're not thinking those people could be the ones responsible for this robbery, are ya? That's a bit of a stretch, Iida-san! And even if by some chance they are, I wouldn't worry! Kirishima might've been the first of you Class A lot for me to warm up to, but I have just as much respect for Bezpalov and Ashido after everything that happened at the training camp attack! I have no doubt they've picked some equally badass Heroes to train under that can make them more than ready for anything if that all came to a head!"
While Tetsutetsu was busy expressing his respect and faith in Tenya's classmates' abilities to handle themselves in the face of theoretical danger; there was only one thing Pony could immediately think of while listening to her classmate ramble on, momentarily leaning in toward Yui: "'Bez…paul…off?' Isn't he dat pale Russkie kid in Class A? Da one Kinoko-chan was drawin' in her notebook and writin' 'cute' all over after Setsuna-chan introduced ya both after da Field Training?"
Yui, of course, gave no verbal answer, instead simply confirming her classmate's suspicions with the faintest nod, which ultimately left Pony smiling even brighter.
At that moment, as Mei was already just about to start heading for her next platform without even so much as a goodbye in her single-mindedness; a sudden burst of numerous panicked and confused voices echoed down to the Heroes from further within the station, alongside an alarmingly loud rise in the hum of one of the train engines, soon punctuated by numerous whistles and an electric alarm going off.
The very moment such an unusual collection of sounds reached their ears, the five Heroes turned to the source; their heads on a swivel, as Knightfall began to move forward. "Everyone, stay behind me, and don't do anything rash unless I say." At his command, he came rushing in, while his four interns were close on his heels, keeping their eyes peeled for the very first sign of trouble.
In nearly no time at all, they finally reached a large gathering of civilians and station personnel gathered at the edge of a now-empty platform. Of course, seeing the Asteroid Hero and his interns arrive prompted many of the civilians to part ways for them to get through. The moment his eyes fell upon a distressed-looking man in a station uniform, Knightfall was straight-to-business: "Are you hurt, sir? What exactly is going on?"
The man in question looked indescribably relieved the instant he saw a handful of Heroes had arrived, hurriedly motioning to the mouth of the tunnel this particular platform led into. "Knightfall-san, thank God you're here! This trio of young and aggressive-looking Villains in masks just hijacked the train for this line going through the sea tunnel back to Honshu! One of them was especially mean-looking, a big one with bruises around his neck! I-I think they might've been foreigners; they weren't speaking Japanese, but Russian to each other! There are still civilians and employees stuck on that train right now!"
The instant it was made clear that they were facing a hostage situation, Tenya already looked ready to jump onto the tracks and give chase into the tunnel, but a stalwart hand from Knightfall, restraining him by his armor's chest plate, stopped him; while the Pro Hero himself now had his eyes on the tunnel mouth as well. "Contact the adjacent train station on the other side of the tunnel, please. Inform them of the situation, have any departing trains recalled, and shut down the power to both lines going in and out. Not only do we want to immobilize the criminals in question, but we don't want to risk more civilians on other trains getting caught in the crossfire if this gets rough."
The station employees were already running for their control stations to do exactly as he suggested, and once they had given the signal that the power to all the rail lines across the tunnel had been shut down from both sides; he and his interns were already making their way onto the lines, with Pony popping off two sets of her horns from her head with incredible ease, only for another pair to immediately grow back in their place. From there, she and Tetsutetsu climbed onto a pair of them each, levitating in the air while Tenya took a spot at the head of their group formation, and Yui simply climbed onto Knightfall's back.
There was no question among them just what had to be done, but before their mentor could give the go-ahead for them to move out, Mei suddenly exclaimed from the edge of the platform: "Hey, Ingenium, wait up a second, would you?! I got something for you!"
Tenya was instinctively about to ask the manic pink-haired girl if this was truly something that couldn't wait, but with great swiftness and precision, she swooped in after kicking one of her suitcases open, immediately afterward slapping an all-too-familiar set of tail pipe harnesses to the backs of his biceps; his mask hiding the look of nervous surprise on his face once he recognized what he now had, courtesy of Mei. "Uh, Hatsume-san, do you really think these…things will really be that useful in a confined environment like this tunnel?"
"Not to worry, I did some major tweaking on the Super Cooler Electric Boosters since last time! This time you'll be able to run with your arms with ease and power all in one!" This seemed to be a good enough answer for Mei herself, but hardly for Tenya. However, it was the urgency of the situation itself, and the intensity among the rest of his fellow interns and mentor that kept him from arguing with her further.
"Alright, everyone stay close in formation and keep your eyes on the main objective: securing the civilians! Now let's move!" Once more spurred on by the authority in Knightfall's command, the whole lot of young Heroes hurriedly made their way into the darkness of the train tunnel, only illuminated by the lights lining the ceiling and walls around them.
Keeping their eyes open for the first sign of the hijacked train, Knightfall somehow managed to maintain pace with the rest of his interns despite his size, and immediately called forward to them: "Our best bet at apprehending the criminals will be to remove the hostages from their playing field, removing their advantage. However, in a confined space like a train, that's going to prove exceptionally difficult, especially with our Quirks! Does anyone have any suggestions? We may be able to come up with an unorthodox solution if we combined our powers!"
With his sight thankfully not obstructed by the intense air current from moving at such high speed, Tenya immediately lit up with an idea: "If we could somehow make our way into the train proper, we could have Kodai-san use her Quirk to shrink down the civilians for us to take out of there! That would leave the criminals with no leverage against us!"
However, even as he was shielding his eyes right alongside the Class A president, Tetsutetsu grimaced with frustrated regret: "That actually ain't an option, Iida! Yui-san's Quirk doesn't work on living things, just inanimate objects!"
A secondary glance back to the girl in question upon Knightfall's back, greeted Tenya with the sight of her giving him a single confirming nod. His initial idea wasn't going to work, leaving the armored young man silently frustrated.
However, that was when Pony's head perked up with a curious look in her eyes. "Hey, Yui-chan, didn't ya use yer Quirk on a bag of candy once, and the candy itself grew wit' it? Or was Setsuna-chan just makin' dat up?"
If Yui actually did give a verbal answer, neither Tenya nor Tetsutetsu could hear it. However, if Pony's question was actually based on truth, then it definitely had both boys' imaginations running with yet further potential solutions. And they couldn't come soon enough, as it was only a matter of time before they would finally reach the train as they reached the beginning of a slight left turn in the tunnel.
Just a small ways further down the tunnel, the small crowd of civilians and train employees all sat huddled together, visibly quivering in fear under the watchful faded purple eyes of the large white-haired mask-wearing Serbian, Ljubomir Milošević, as he kept one hand dislodged from his wrist, the barrel for his Grenade Launcher Quirk primed and ready to fire the instant any of them tried anything funny.
All the while, his face was bristling with anger as he called out through the busted out window to the tunnel outside. [[Would you guys hurry up out there?! If they already managed to cut the power to the rails, then there's gotta be more Heroes on their way to try and stop us!]]
Outside, Tuule was hurriedly warping herself from one side of the tunnel to the next, planting one plastic explosive and priming its detonation charge after another, while Danila was vigilantly standing atop the train, keeping watch while tossing the explosives to her every time she warped elsewhere.
All the while, the young Estonian snapped back to her Serbian comrade through their earpieces: [[Would you relax, for God's sake?! It's not like the plan's been hijacked or anything like that! Commander Pietro said we just need to focus on flooding the tunnel. The way this thing is set up, that's going to happen once we blow these charges, no matter how far in we are. Scythe, make sure our escape plan is in place.]]
Following her order, the young Ukrainian atop the train hurriedly changed the frequency on his earpiece: [[Ocean Master, they cut the power to the rails, but we're still setting up the charges. Are you able to pinpoint where in the tunnel we are for once we blow them?]]
[[Copy that, Scythe. I could hear the rumbling of your train from out here before the power was cut. You just move away from the blast site before you detonate the charges, and then let me take care of the rest. I'll get you all back in one piece.]]
Danila and his comrades barely had any time to let out a sigh of relief in response, before all their ears could pick up the sound of rapid approaching footsteps and further disruptions in the air, almost as though another train were barreling down the way toward them.
And the very next moment, lo and behold, his eyes spotted the quickly closing in sight of a powerfully built young man in a suit of white and black armor, sprinting down the tunnel their way at inhuman speed; quickly followed on both sides by another young man with grey hair and a young girl with blonde, both riding atop what looked like flying gazelle horns. And following close on all their tails was a large sheer brute of a man in what looked like knight's armor made of meteor rock, with another young girl in red and white with black hair poking her head out from behind his shoulder.
[[GUYS, WE GOT COMPANY!]] Danila immediately alerted his comrades, just at the very same moment that, as he made the turn at the head of his team, Tenya's eyes immediately spotted numerous blinking red lights lining the walls of this small section of the tunnel.
All at once did it click in his head just what he was looking at, as he called back to his fellow Heroes in warning: "Everyone, they've got explosives of some kind mounted to the walls! They must be planning to flood the tunnel!"
However, before Tenya could start to give any kind of instructions to his teammates as to which part of the crisis who should go for, Knightfall's discerning eye spotted the movement of the criminals in question in the dim light ahead, specifically how they were both now pulling out the unmistakable sight of—
"GUNS! EVERYONE, BEHIND ME!" As his command echoed up and down the tunnel, Knightfall threw himself forward in a mad dash, prompting Yui to get off from his back, while the Pro Hero himself grabbed Tenya by the shoulder and thrust himself in front, just in time for a dual barrage of automatic gunfire to erupt from down the tunnel, hammering into his rock armor relentlessly, even after he managed to pull the countless rocks and stones lining the tracks up into each other over his left forearm to form a shield.
"I'll try and force a way forward! You all stay close to me and don't step out until you know you have a safe opening!" With that, Knightfall began forcing one foot in front of the other; his four interns staying close to his back as he did so, while the gunfire showed no sign of stopping; Tuule keeping the suppression going when Danila had to reload and visa versa.
CRASH!
Before they could reach the tail end of the train, though, the crashing of glass and metal sounded, bringing the gunfire to a momentary stop. Before Knightfall or the students could risk taking a peek to see for themselves, Ljubomir stopped his landing roll from the doorway, landing on his feet with his dislodged hand and cannon barrel already aimed dead center at the shield in front of Knightfall himself.
BKOOM!
The sheer concussive power and heat from the ensuing explosion blasting into the shield was able to reach all of the young interns behind his back, while Knightfall had to hold his body as wide as he possibly could to keep protecting them, even when he knew for a fact his shield had been completely destroyed, and he could feel some considerable cracks blasted into his actual rock armor.
Behind him, Yui could already spy not only his legs having been bent to try and fight back against the force of whoever had joined the criminals in this fight, but also the numerous stone fragments chipped from Knightfall's armor as a result of the explosion. With a resolute look forming on her face, she proceeded to start digging through one of the pouches of her belt, while also gathering as many of the armor fragments off the ground at her feet.
As soon as her fellow interns saw her doing this, it became especially clear for Pony and Tetsutetsu what she had to be thinking; signified by the latter hurriedly turning his skin back into iron before addressing Tenya: "Yo, Iida, we're gonna need your legs, alright?! We need to distract these guys!"
"Right! Go ahead and throw everything you have, Kodai-san!" As soon as Tenya gave the go-ahead, Yui quickly threw the two handfuls of rock fragments and tiny metal nuts up into the air directly over Knightfall's head, just as her Quirk finally took effect and allowed them all to grow to about half the size of a full-grown adult's body.
The moment they saw this, Tenya and Tetsutetsu threw themselves out into the open, with the former driving a revving spinning heel kick into several, sending them flying forward, while Tetsutetsu began furiously driving his iron fists into the others, producing a deafening metallic ring as the projectiles all flew with great force; driving Danila and Ljubomir to scatter from one another.
At the same time as her two male partners started to finally fight back, Pony quickly did the same, aiming her four still-floating horns towards Tuule now atop the train, grabbing the pair of horns still atop her head, and with relentless speed and precision, began to send them flying forward while popping off one pair after another from her head, resulting in a barrage of her own that forced the young female Villain to hurriedly warp away from the top of the train, and resultantly keep herself warping from one spot to the next, as Pony was keeping her eyes wide open for where her target would pop up next, and sending her onslaught of horns right after her. She wasn't going to allow this Villain to get another shot off on her friends or her teacher if she could do anything about it.
However, in the process of Tuule's constant warp speed dashing, Pony's aim ended up landing on Danila in the process, and his perception and reflexes were already at their peak, as the moment he saw her horns flying his way, his instant reaction was to start swinging his arms their way, and ultimately hers, as fast as he could, sending one lightning fast gust of razor sharp air after another, and with Pony having little to no time to actually react once she saw her flying horns getting sliced in twain in the blink of an eye.
CLANG!
At the last moment before she could get cut down, Pony was saved from the oncoming wind blades by Tetsutetsu, who threw himself directly into the path of impact; his iron skin taking the full brunt of every strike, digging his heels into the ground to try and keep from getting pushed back, before finally getting his arms crossed in front of him to try and protect them both enough to where he could further strategize.
Once Danila's assault stopped upon the realization of what had just happened, Tetsutetsu took that chance to finally charge, his right fist already reared back and ready to clean his clock with extreme prejudice.
WOOSH!
But the moment the iron-skinned student threw his fist straight for Danila's midsection, the Ukrainian boy instantaneously vanished, leaving Tetsutetsu to meet nothing but air, while Tenya and Yui instantly spotted him and Tuule once more atop the roof of the train, before they both just as quickly vanished when Yui tried throwing another quickly growing metal nut their way, once more missing and meeting nothing but the opposite wall.
At the same time, after taking another few explosive hits from Ljubomir, Knightfall was finally close enough to his opponent to try using his Quirk to have all the stone of the ground rise up and swallow him enough to restrain him completely, but the Villains' high-speed female member was proving infuriatingly adept at instant reactions, as the large Serbian just as quickly vanished and reappeared with her at his side further down the tunnel before the Pro Hero could finally trap him.
Keeping an eye on these mere few seconds of the proceedings, Tenya's eyes were squarely focused on Tuule, setting himself up to launch into a sprint once he realized she'd snatched Ljubomir away from Knightfall's trap, and the moment she had taken to stop moving, he immediately threw himself into a mad dash right for her; his arms swinging at his sides as he called out to his fellows: "Their female member, we won't be able to capture the others as long as she's active! I'll keep her busy!"
Tuule and Ljubomir both realized the white-armored Hero was now about to get the drop on them, but just as the large Serbian had his left arm cannon aimed at him, Tenya kicked himself up off the ground before landing a ricocheting stomp off his forearm, springing himself forward and at the right angle to come in at Tuule's momentary blind side.
However, with a blink of her eyes, she was instantly vanished from sight, instead dashing forward a whole twenty meters from Tenya's landing spot; but the Class A president was far from finished, as he immediately kicked himself back from his landing point, once more speeding right for her position, only for Tuule to once again warp herself onto the nearby wall, almost clinging to it in a manner matching Tsuyu Asui's.
From there, she immediately warped herself to the wall opposite that one, just at the same time Tenya launched himself up and nearly drove his kicking foot into the same spot she'd just warped from. All too quickly was it becoming apparent to him that she was leading him on a wild goose chase, and if he didn't think of an alternative quick, she was going to tucker him out, or worse, get him in the way of his partners' attacks, and thus leave them all open for a counter from her own teammates.
Before he could start to come up with a backup plan, however, just at the same time he had kicked himself up onto the roof of the train after her; Tuule warped herself onto the farthest wall, but this time instead of warping herself to somewhere further as she had been, she instead immediately warped herself right back for Tenya's position, sending him spinning from a sudden painful impact to his right shoulder as she flew right past him.
As he tried to steady himself on his feet, the pain became quickly apparent, as did the feeling of a familiar warm wetness running down his right arm from underneath his armor. Chancing a momentary glance, he immediately noticed a large cutting gash in the white armor plating, and when looking to where his opponent was now still standing, he could spy the glint of a small metal knife resting in her right hand as she swayed to and fro, just trying to lead him off so he wouldn't know which direction she was going to come from next.
'Dammit, she's mixing up her strategies, too! I can't keep directly chasing after her, it's what she's come to expect at this point. If she's going to start focusing her attacks on my position when I chase her…then I'll just have to focus my own on her position when she does so as well!'
As if his momentary hesitation was all it took for Tuule to clue in on his thinking, she suddenly began to warp back and forth between the walls, the roof and sides of the train and even the resting enlarged rocks, nuts and bolts still lying around, courtesy of Yui's Quirk mere seconds ago. Instead of directly chasing after her, Tenya was now instead focusing on dashing this way and that to try and avoid Tuule's knife swipes; all the while keeping his eyes open on his surroundings.
'She only really seems to be able to move in straight lines. The dim lights in here may be playing tricks on my eyes, but it almost looks as though she can only warp to where she's directly looking. I can use that! I need to keep her away from the more open areas of the tunnel; limit her avenues of maneuvering. Eventually she's going to have no choice but to make a desperate attack rush to try and buy herself some breathing room.'
Chasing her past the front-most car of the train to the beginning of the concrete dividing wall between the two different tracks, Tenya was preparing himself to run for the side and kick himself off the wall, while seeing Tuule was still running directly forward towards said dividing wall. With the few options she had of where to warp to in order to stay in the fight and not abandon her comrades, he knew he would be in a good position to intercept her from there for a good majority of them. If this played out as well as he was hoping, he could be able to capture her right here, and make the rest of the battle that much easier for his fellow Heroes.
However, just as he was about ready to kick off to his left for the wall when he saw Tuule suddenly vanish from his immediate sight; her reaction instead was to meet the dividing wall head-on, and when she reappeared upon it, she was already directly facing Tenya himself, kicking herself off in a forward springing jump, before turning her gaze upward and vanishing just as quickly.
Tenya had to momentarily dig his heels in to try and redirect himself, just at the same time the Estonian girl was now landed on the ceiling of the tunnel for but a split second over his head, before once again vanishing and reappearing directly where he had once stood; her machine pistol already aimed square for his back.
Realizing she momentarily had him at a complete disadvantage, especially since he for once found himself in the precarious position of having no means to redirect himself fast enough to avoid getting hit by at least one bullet; Tenya's mind was frantic for a solution…before the reminder of the added weight to his arms brought to mind what he had once heard Mei Hatsume say the first time she had him test her bizarre arm booster invention: "If you ever want to cool off your legs, just run with your arms!"
"I hope your hard work really came through with these, Hatsume-san!" This was the only thing Tenya could bring himself to say, as he began swinging his arms at an instant speed much like how he always tried to run without throwing himself straight into his Recipro Burst, all the while hoping the energy would convey through the tail pipes lining the arms of his costume, just at the same moment Tuule finally pressed down on the trigger to her gun.
RATATATATATATA!
In a blinding muzzle flash and echoing burst of gunfire, Tuule unloaded on the pesky high-speed Hero who'd been keeping her on the move and preventing her from aiding her comrades, but once she'd taken that chance to look, she was not met with the sight of Tenya's body riddled with holes, but rather nothing at all.
VROOOM!
Her ears immediately were met with the revving of a powerful engine reverberating off the walls, and it was coming from directly overhead. Turning to the ceiling, she was stricken in the blink of an eye, in that she saw Tenya actually flying up to the ceiling through a burst of pure heat from the tailpipes lining his arms, still swinging them back and forth at blinding speed as he had been in his pursuit of her all this time.
However, this time, Tenya was actually half-ready for this, unable to take the time to be thankful that Mei's invention actually worked as intended, as instead he immediately threw his body weight around so that he flipped himself around, meeting the ceiling with his feet, bending his knees to absorb the impact, and to prepare himself for what was about to come next as he and Tuule momentarily locked eyes.
"RECIPRO BURST!"
With that declaration and another eruption of the revving engines mounted to his arms and protruding from his legs, Tenya launched off the ceiling at the near speed of light, closing in on Tuule and meeting her with a devastating boosted low kick to her left side just before she could warp herself out of the way. The visibly shocked Estonian girl nearly folded in half at the point of impact, all the air knocked out of her lungs as she flew towards the wall to her right, only somehow managing to land her eyes elsewhere and blink just in the nick of time, only this time rolling, flipping and ultimately crashing into the opposite wall instead of landing on her hands and feet.
The entire left side of her torso felt like it was on fire, but she couldn't even take the moment necessary to process that, as Tenya was still in full pursuit of her with the few seconds of his Recipro Burst he had left, but she wasn't about to take that chance anymore, instead this time focusing on anywhere but the boy himself, and warping herself to it in order to try and maintain distance; ignoring the pain in her side the entire time as her landings kept proving sloppier and more painful than her usual grace and precision.
At the same time as Tenya and Tuule's battle; from the moment she had taken to snatch Ljubomir out of the jaws of capture by Knightfall earlier; Tetsutetsu was once again hitching a lift on another of Pony's horns to try and close the distance to Danila on the other side of the train, just barely missing his head when he threw a perfect roundhouse kick just by an inch, only to quickly follow up from there with a kick off the side of the train to stop his momentum, turn himself around so he was now facing his opponent's back, and throwing a downward chop for the joint of his shoulder and neck. "LET'S SEE YOU DODGE THIS!"
However, Danila was just as quick to react as he suddenly aimed his machine pistol backward from around his right side, holding the trigger down and peppering Tetsutetsu all over with bullets, a cacophony of metallic impacts ringing out as the 1-B boy was forced back, getting his arms back up just a second before Danila's gun finally ran out of ammo; leaving him wide-eyed with shock upon the realization he had run dry.
All the while, Tetsutetsu's shoulders were heaving as he tried to catch his breath, gritting his sharp teeth to try and block out the aching pain all over his body after taking a fully automatic barrage of lead at near point-blank range. As he finally lowered his arms, his beady pupils were focused on the shocked Danila before him, like a predator to its prey.
"You bastard…I think you might've actually left some cracks somewhere on me! This…is why I HATE GUNS!" With that battle cry of frustration resonating throughout the tunnel, Tetsutetsu finally broke into a mad sprint for Danila, who was already in the middle of throwing his gun away and rearing his fist back for a direct spear punch right for the oncoming iron-skinned Hero's gut.
The moment they were at just the right distance, with a fierce exhale through his nose, Danila threw his fist straight into Tetsutetsu's solar plexus with every bit of force he could muster, resulting in another echoing metallic CLANG upon impact. When he heard his opponent let out a forced exhale and painful hacking cough as a result, he could already feel a swelling of victorious pride build in his chest.
However, the moment he actually chanced opening his eyes to confirm; Danila felt his blood go cold. His spear punch may not have been the killing blow he had hoped for, but it had definitely left a considerable dent in Tetsutetsu's iron hide. When he looked to meet the 1-B boy in question's gaze, however; Danila felt overcome with intimidation, as Tetsutetsu's eyes burned into him, visibly fighting through the pain of the impact he'd just taken, just before finally throwing his reeled back left fist straight for the Ukrainian's face.
CLANG!
Tetsutetsu's finishing fist just barely managed to meet its mark; only stopped short of an absolutely devastating knock-out hit, by Danila desperately swinging his free fist upward to try and intercept, resulting in a last-second wind blade that had forced Tetsutetsu a couple feet back.
As the two boys stood off against one another, Tetsutetsu could feel an intense pain shooting up his left arm, and upon looking, felt his breath momentarily hitch in his throat when he saw an actual cleaving wound in his iron fist between his index and middle knuckles. From there, he once again met his shaken opponent's gaze, and clenched his uninjured fist in further preparation. "You…you actually managed to leave this much of a mark on me. That Quirk of yours…it's really tough as hell, I gotta give you that."
While both these battles were going on; Knightfall, Pony and Yui were all finding themselves with their hands more than full while trying their best to whittle down Ljubomir's defensive and offensive capabilities.
After having hammered the Pro Hero's armor down some with yet further explosions after Tuule's earlier intervention, Ljubomir had proceeded to charge him head on, resulting in the two going blow-for-blow with their fists; only for the Serbian to show little to no actual reaction to the hits Knightfall managed to land, even if they were clearly making him bleed.
Every time he ended up getting forced away, Pony and Yui would both try to use their Quirks to try and beat him down enough to where Knightfall could once again try to capture him. However, even the ongoing barrage of Pony's horns in combination with the continuously thrown and growing nuts, bolts and rocks Yui was throwing his way, he simply would not stop; either taking the horns hammering against him head-on, or shooting Yui's projectiles out of the air.
"What da hell is with dis guy?! He's like some kinda Terminator or somethin'! It's like he don't feel pain or anythin'!" Pony exclaimed as she kept plucking her horns from her head one after another, only to see they weren't even slowing him down anymore.
A momentary but distressed-sounding mumble from Yui quickly got the blonde girl's attention, and when following her classmate's frantically nodding head, Pony turned to the train at Ljubomir's side and immediately realized what the problem was.
With the large Villain's constant use of his Grenade Launcher Quirk to blast Yui's projectiles out of the sky, it was clearly showing significant wear and tear and shrapnel damage along the side of the train, inherently putting the civilians inside in great danger.
Knightfall was just as quick to realize this as well, for as he once more charged Ljubomir with another set of fists that the Serbian easily caught in his hands, he called out to his two female interns: "Rocketti-chan, Rule-chan; no matter what, we have to keep this Villain from using his Quirk any more than he already has been!"
However, unperturbed by yet another physical battle against the Asteroid Hero, Ljubomir proceeded to start hammering his forehead against Knightfall's helmet-clad head, laughing hysterically to himself with every hit, even as his own blood began running down his face from the multiple lacerations in his forehead as a result: [[Oh, man, this whole resurrection thing is amazing! I can hardly even feel anything you suckers throw at me! You can't possibly hope to win!]]
At the same exact moment as this, Tuule was still trying to maintain her distance from the still-pursuing Tenya with everything she had; all while he himself was silently expressing gratitude for having strengthened the power and expanded the duration of his Recipro Burst as much as he had by now.
As she kept practically ricocheting up and down this section of the tunnel like a human bullet; with Tenya managing to match and even intercept her movements every other time, grazing her with his feet, and her even managing to retaliate with a luckily aimed knife strike hacking into his armor joints; Tuule suddenly felt her somehow still-mounted earpiece start going off, instinctively hitting the answer button, only to be met by the especially frantic-sounding tone of Jozef Mečiar's voice, from the Asahikawa City team:
[[Gust, it's Spitfire! We've accomplished our mission, but we need you to get out here and extract us now! We have four Heroes in hot pursuit of us, and I don't know how long we can hold them off! Please, comrade, hurry up and get us out of here!]]
With the call ending as abruptly as it had come; Tuule's sense of responsibility sent her adrenaline and frustration alike into overdrive, as she hurriedly warped herself up, over and behind Tenya in his latest forward dash, just at the last fraction of a second before his Recipro Bust finally reached its end, finally allowing her the room she needed to get back to her comrades ahead: [[Comrades, I just got word from the Asahikawa team of their success! We need to blow the tunnel now and return to headquarters! Leave this meddling lot to drown!]]
Even in the midst of all their own fighting, and even despite the ever-present language barrier; it didn't take a genius in these circumstances for all the Heroes to realize just what the lightning-fast lavender-haired female Villain was shouting to her allies at that very moment; the numerous blinking red lights upon the walls and ceiling proving to be a deathly serious reminder, as Tetsutetsu immediately exclaimed: "Sensei, they're about to blow this whole place away!"
With Knightfall still currently engaged in trying to get Ljubomir onto the ground, it was Pony who was the quickest to answer: "Maybe I could use my horns ta just smash and destroy all da bombs here like dat!"
With a resounding uppercut to Ljubomir's jaw, Knightfall managed to knock the Serbian a good several feet away down the tunnel; but his body language and tone still reflected no delusion that they had won, as his voice rang with professional intensity: "Or it could just as easily cause the bombs to detonate, endangering the lives of all the civilians in the train! We can't leave such things to chance or assumptions, Rocketti-chan! I'm afraid, in these circumstances, the detonation and flooding of this tunnel to follow is nigh inevitable! The most important thing we can do is to get the civilians out of here and back to safety! I'll try and hold these Villains off!"
All the while, Tetsutetsu quickly spied the now-fleeing Danila producing what looked like a small remote from out his pocket, and thus practically threw himself forward and launched his foot straight up, miraculously managing to kick the device right out of his opponent's grasp and smashing into pieces against the ceiling. "These guys might all have detonators! If we can't get rid of all the bombs themselves, maybe if we could get rid of the detonators, the tunnel won't have to be flooded after all! It's gotta be worth a shot!"
With this alternative approach now out in the air, the fight was reignited between all the Heroes and their respective opponents, as with another echoing roar of engines, Tenya's Engine Quirk came back to life and he threw himself into another lightning-fast sprint to reunite with his partners, kicking off literally by launching himself from the wall and delivering a powerful ricocheting kick off of Ljubomir's head as he tried to get back up from the ground, using the Serbian as a springboard to once again go after Tuule.
This time, she wasn't nearly willing enough to humor his pursuit, as with another warp from the rear of the train onto another of the hanging light rafters on the ceiling, she threw her knife straight for him, only for the blade to be shattered to pieces with another perfectly timed and aimed heel kick.
With the pain of his numerous slash injuries all over his body, Tenya wasn't about to let this Villain get away or keep whittling him down, no matter what.
At the same time, with his own detonator now destroyed, Danila was simply trying to buy himself some maneuverability by hammering Tetsutetsu down with one Wind Blade slash after another, but with every resonating impact against his iron skin, the 1-B boy was systematically getting pushed further and further back to the wall; all while once more keeping his arms up and over. He could tell his iron skin was starting to lose its potency, but if he could at least keep the majority of its strength focused to his arms for a few seconds longer, he felt he might still have a chance to take this one out, especially with Tenya keeping their warp-speed member occupied.
And all the while, once more did Knightfall, with his badly damaged armor slowly restoring itself with each passing second, find himself facing off against Ljubomir hand-to-hand, this time focusing more on simply trying to physically beat his snarling muscle-bound explosive opponent into unconsciousness, instead of trying to capture him. The fact was that his Quirk was too volatile for any chances to be taken, and if a constant physical bombardment from Pony's horns wouldn't do the trick, then simple sheer brute strength was their only remaining bet.
With the three Villains momentarily distracted, Pony and Yui knew that was their chance to try and remove the bombs and rescue the civilians in the train respectively, but when the former tried to simply pry the bombs off the walls with all her strength, she nearly found herself getting cut down by several of Danila's wayward Wind Slashes, forcing her eyes to the Ukrainian's fight against Tetsutetsu.
With her classmate's legs visibly buckling as he nearly had his back to the wall, she knew deep down that he needed help, the kind she knew for a fact she could give. And so, after jumping back in order to avoid another slash gouging into the stone wall, she hurriedly popped off another set of her horns, sending them flying not for Danila, but Tetsutetsu himself. "COMIN' UP BEHIND YA, TETSU-KUN!"
Hearing his classmate's warning in the midst of this battle of attrition, Tetsutetsu could just as quickly hear the sound of her horns flying through the air, and all at once did an idea come to mind.
Throwing himself backwards to his right, instead of once more trying to actually charge his enemy, Tetsutetsu reached out to his sides and grabbed onto the horns flying in, using their speed to send himself now flying forward faster than Danila was used to; using that moment to channel his Iron Quirk back into his legs and deliver a resounding ringing kick; only for his opponent's knee-jerk reflexes to send him diving to the wall himself, throwing his arms up in a momentary counter-attack that managed to resound against Tetsutetsu's legs, cutting through the pant legs of his jumpsuit, and hitting with enough force to send him flying up and over the roof of the train; inadvertently cutting Tenya off from his continued pursuit of Tuule, and landing right between Knightfall and Ljubomir.
The moment the Serbian's faded purple eyes landed on the shaking, furious sharp-toothed young Hero between them, a whole other kind of bloodlust took over, as he had his cannon already aimed point blank right for him, just as Tetsutetsu himself realized it, and Knightfall knew just how close a save this was going to be, as he already began reaching to pull his intern back behind him and take the full force of the explosive hit head on.
BKOOM!
In a blinding flash of light and blistering heat, Ljubomir unleashed a fully charged explosive shot straight into Tetsutetsu, sending Knightfall rolling back from the concussive power of it; but his pain was the last thing the Pro Hero was acknowledging, as he felt a sheer knife of guilt and despair stab straight through his heart at the realization of what he'd just failed to do.
All the while, Ljubomir was laughing in near animalistic hysterics as he looked at the fire where his new young target had just stood a second ago. [[Oh my God, the Commander was right! These Heroes don't stand a chance against the likes of us! I'm freakin' invinci—
WRAAM!
With a bloodcurdling furious war cry of his own, Tetsutetsu's iron fist shot out from the blaze with a force even a brute like Ljubomir didn't expect, as it connected full on with his face, sending his whole towering frame bending back before finally launching several feet through the air like he'd just been shot out of a cannon, bouncing several times before skidding to a stop.
Standing before the fire, struggling to catch his breath while his jumpsuit continued to smolder; Tetsutetsu stood tall, powerful and righteously angry; his whole body fortunately encased in his iron with the last ounce of his Quirk's power he was able to force out in the desperation of that final moment.
As his skin returned to normal, Tetsutetsu chanced a momentary glance down to the ground, spotting another of the small detonator devices on the ground where Ljubomir had just stood. Taking no chances, he hurriedly plucked it from the ground and tossed it back to Knightfall before wincing with extreme pain at the extensive bruising now all over his torso and arms. "Y'know…my Quirk may pretty much make me a brick shithouse when it comes to taking hits…but GODDAMMIT, THAT FRIGGIN' HURT, YOU BIG-ASS OX!"
At the same time, after Tetsutetsu's unexpected flight had inadvertently cut off his pursuit, Tenya was now being forced to deal with Danila; who by now was regaining his calm now that he was no longer fighting a human iron wall like his last opponent, instead now keeping Tenya on the run as he kept throwing one Wind Blade swipe after another every direction he went, barely managing to dodge the kicks the armored Hero managed to throw his way, all the while keeping himself moving in order to avoid Pony's horns at the same time.
At one point once his back got put up against the rear of the train, and Tenya was in the middle of throwing a high rear roundhouse kick for his head, Danila managed to duck down just in time with a fist reared back, ready to drive straight into his enemy's center mass. Time seemed to come to a crawl as he watched the momentum of Tenya's body turning to face him in mid-air. The moment he saw the exposed chest-plate for his armor; the young Villain finally threw his left fist forward, meeting Tenya head on and feeling the reverberation of the impact shoot right back up his arm, as the force sent Tenya flying back, bouncing hard just as Ljubomir had at that very moment, before ultimately catching himself and skidding to a stop on one knee and one hand.
Tenya didn't even look down to see the large indentation and cracks now pounded into the chest of his costume, and the resultant aching pain in his ribs as a result, before his intense eyes fell upon Danila's through the holes of his mask. After seeing what this particular Villain's Quirk could do, he knew he'd made the right call to have his armor made of the material it was; otherwise this easily could have been the end for him just now.
Danila was likewise looking just as ready to keep the fight going as well, as he had his fists at the ready, either to jab or swing; either way the effect would be the same. He wasn't about to allow this high-speed Hero get anywhere near him again.
BAM!
However, having gotten so caught up in trying to defend himself from Tenya specifically because of his speed; Danila had momentarily forgotten about Pony in the process, as he felt the full force of another pair of her flying horns come plowing into his left side, sending him flying straight into the opposite wall to his right.
Just as he tried to use his Quirk to slash his way out of this pincer hold they had on him against the wall, Danila soon found himself getting further and further pinned, as more and more horns came flying in and stabbing into the wall around him, soon perfectly outlining his frame, and most importantly, holding him down to where he had no means to actually maneuver his way out.
However, before either Tenya or Knightfall could congratulate Pony or Tetsutetsu respectively for their actions in neutralizing two of their opponents, Tuule made her continued presence more than known, as she came warping in from out of the air with a furious battle cry, more knives now wielded in her two hands as she came diving down for Pony herself from behind, faster than she would be able to pluck more of her horns and intercept with.
As Tenya came flying in with a drop kick to try and nail the persistent warp-speed Villain; she just as quickly warped herself forward out of the way, leaving Tenya skidding along the roof of the train to stop his momentum, while the Estonian girl was still warping herself to and fro with what looked like nary any rhyme or reason, as though it were all simply for the sake of keeping the Heroes from being able to get a bead on her at all, especially as Yui tried to keep knocking her down with more growing projectiles.
Unfortunately, if anything, all it was doing was giving Tuule further advantage, as she was soon using the Size Quirk-using young Hero's items as a means to maintain her airborne advantage over them; proving too fast for Pony's horns or Tenya's intervening kicks. And with Tetsutetsu's Iron Quirk currently depleted, and Knightfall as winded as he was with his armor badly broken up, even despite his trying to use his Quirk to lift up the stone on the ground to throw Tuule off; it was clear that even vastly outnumbered, her energy and speed was maintaining her complete advantage.
[[You bunch of suckers! You've got no hope of stopping me! Once I get my comrades away, you're all screwed!]] Her taunting manic voice echoed up and down the tunnel as she kept herself moving, already projecting her next move set in order to get the drop on the female Hero who was making all these once tiny objects grow so much, and deliver a single finishing knife strike to the back of her neck.
However, what Tuule didn't realize was that even despite her constant attempts at attacking, Yui was far from desperate; as her unreadable and observant eyes were following the visual trajectories and body language of all her fellow Heroes, using that as a means to follow just where this last Villain was going, and most importantly, where she could only logically project herself next, as it seemed she could only warp herself in a straight line and where she was directly looking; just as Tenya had surmised himself.
And now, with the female Villain's trajectory clearing coming closer to her current position, and more specifically towards herself, Yui had a good idea just what the Villain was planning to do, and where she would have to project herself first in order to get where she needed to be in order to land a clean attack. The only way she would be able to do that in the least amount of warps possible would be to use one of the enlarged metal nuts still lying in the middle of the tunnel.
And that was where Yui had the advantage, as her hands were already just hovering mere centimeters from each other in front of her; her fingertips just about to touch.
The moment Tuule warped herself forward off the wall for the edge of the nut so she could then spring herself over to the next wall just behind the red-and-white-clad Hero's back, she suddenly found her feet meeting nothing but air; throwing her momentum and her body weight in conjunction completely off-kilter, as she now fell forward and came crashing in a hard roll to the ground instead, as Yui's fingertips touching had rendered every single one of the enlarged objects she had been throwing all throughout this battle back to their regular size, thus robbing Tuule of every extra springboard for her warp-speed Quirk that she'd been taking advantage of from the start.
And it all was finally punctuated by Tenya rushing in and using Tuule's momentum in her crash-landing to his advantage, as he delivered a kick only just strong enough to her midsection to send her ricocheting backwards and slamming into the wall of the train, leaving the young Estonian Villain with her head spinning and ringing all at once, while still taking that moment to declare: "Even as a learning Hero fighting against a Villain, I can't say I'm proud of having to use any such force against a girl…but the safety of civilians is far too important to take such risky half-measures."
With the battle, for all intents and purposes looking to have finally been won, Knightfall hurriedly instructed his interns to get to work restraining their three opponents; with Tetsutetsu immediately taking the precaution of fishing the last remaining detonator out of Tuule's pocket, and then tearing away one of the straps of his burnt jumpsuit and tying it around her eyes. "If this one's Quirk really works through blinking, this just might do the trick."
However, while Pony and Tetsutetsu quickly afterward began congratulating each other, their mentor and two fellow interns on how bravely they carried themselves all throughout; the Pro Hero himself was quick to realize that Tenya wasn't actually partaking in the celebrations, even when the civilians in the train; having realized that the Heroes had won; were all starting to cheer in thanks.
"Oi, Ingenium-kun; you can rest easy now and let yourself feel a little proud. Yes, having to use violence against a female, even a Villain, is regrettable, but the price of the alternative was simply too great to risk, as you said. You need not look so forlorn." When Knightfall placed an assuring hand on Tenya's shoulder, however; the Yuuei student finally removed his costume's helmet, and when the Asteroid Hero saw the deeply worried look on his bespectacled face, even he too could feel his spirits dim.
"It's not that, Sensei. It's just that…like that station employee said, and just from all I've been hearing from these three throughout the fight: they were all clearly speaking Russian. On top of that, looking at and considering all of the Quirks they've showcased…they all are exactly like some of the Quirks that Bezpalov-san and Ashido-san described witnessing in the town, inhabited primarily by Russian refugees, that they're working in further up north. It's just that…back then, they had described these people as all around friendly."
The concern evident in Tenya's voice thankfully resonated with his fellow interns, as Tetsutetsu immediately answered: "But if that's the case, then why were these guys hijacking a train, trying to blow up and flood the tunnel, and kill us and the rest of the civilians? Who the hell would look at that and call that friendly?!"
Stepping forward with a new resolute air about him, Knightfall thankfully managed to once more take control of the discussion: "It's true that there are too many details about this situation we're not clear on. However, if Ingenium-kun says his classmates who know these individuals are working in a town of Russian refugees, then I know exactly where we'll need to go and who to talk to, once we get these Villains delivered to the authorities, and get the civilians back to safety so bomb disposal can come in. Perhaps Ingenium-kun's classmates and the Kapenta Hero Agency may be able to help shed some much-needed light on everything."
CLICK!
This sudden sound snapped all the presiding Heroes to full attention as they turned back to find the still-pinned Danila had somehow managed to maneuver his head just enough to where he nudged his ear against one of Pony's horns, pressing the button to an as-yet unnoticed earpiece.
[[Comrade Ocean Master, the Heroes got us pinned in here! They took or destroyed our detonators! It's up to you now!]]
The moment those words echoed from the restrained young Villain, the unmistakable FWOOSH of Tuule's Warp Speed Quirk burst out from between the Heroes, forcing them all to look and realize that, just before the rest of her restraints could have been put in place, and just when Danila had given note to the fourth individual the Heroes had yet to even know of; she had rocked her body forward just enough so that the blindfold over her eyes could lower enough to give her even a partial glance of the wall ahead.
The moment she'd done so, she blinked and warped herself out from between their captors and right to Danila's side; forcefully pulling him free from between Pony's horns, and then just as quickly turning and warping them both to the still unconscious Ljubomir, before warping all three of them away twenty meters at a time, with Tenya and the rest of the interns already half-prepared to chase after them all.
However, the twisting realization in the pits of their stomachs of just what the Ukrainian boy had to have been saying before they'd all made their daring escape, left little to the imagination of what was about to happen; and with that, the urgency of knowing what little time they had to actually plan and react together, especially if they were going to get the civilians out of here safely.
Taking in their overall numbers, the ever-shrinking time limit before the bombs would doubtless explode, and just how far they were from the Sapporo station; a singular and incredibly risky idea clicked in all of their heads, exercising an incredible Heroes' synergy that none of them had once thought possible before now.
There were only precious seconds to act, and they couldn't afford even a moment's delay. As such, with their hearts all hammering away at their chests; Tetsutetsu, Pony and Knightfall all practically leapt into the train, with all three of them simultaneously shouting for the civilians to get down before doing so themselves.
The moment she knew they were all inside, and all the while hoping and praying that this would work like she hoped it would after having done so with food in containers as Pony had earlier remembered; Yui immediately slapped her hands to the side of the train, focusing every ounce of power to her Quirk through her hands and into the vehicle itself, shrinking all three cars, as well as all of the people and her classmates and mentor inside; to where the whole thing could easily fit within the palm of her hand, which she quickly closed around for protection.
While Yui could only focus on trying not to start crying with relief that this insanely risky application of her Quirk, despite its known limitations, actually worked; Tenya knew it was now the moment of truth; the moment where everyone's survival would be determined, and it was all down to him to make it so, as he immediately took Yui into his arms and fired the engines in his legs into overdrive yet again.
"RECIPRO BURST!"
With his engines roaring like fiery beasts behind him and echoing down the tunnel behind his back, Tenya launched himself and Yui in his grasp into another blinding inhuman sprint; his muscles burning as his laceration wounds continued to bleed under the damage to his armor; his heart racing and his mind only able to focus on and repeat one thing: 'GET TO THE LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL!'
BKOO-BKOO-BKOO-BKOOOOOM!
The countless thunderous explosions sounding out from behind Tenya paled in comparison to the deafening roar of countless tons of water immediately following it. Even with the speed of his Recipro Burst carrying him and all his allies, he could still feel the ground rumbling beneath his flying feet and the frigid mist of sea water start brushing against the back of his neck as he ran with everything his Quirk and physical strength could put into his legs. He knew for a fact that if he even remotely stumbled here, it would be the end for himself, his fellow Heroes and all the civilians inside the shrunken train.
On the other side of the now flooding tunnel, the recently reawakened Ljubomir had realized just what had happened, and knowing what their main hope for evacuation was, had proceeded to hold Tuule and Danila close and tight as he dug his large feet as firmly into the ground as he could, mere seconds before the ensuing wall of water finally collapsed unto them.
Only for the water to part right around them like an invisible sphere-shaped shield had been created where they stood. Even as the water currents sped right past them as they continued to flood the rest of the tunnel all the way to Honshu; Danila and Tuule couldn't help but once again take in the sheer expertise of Ocean Master and his Quirk with an almost childlike wonder, just as the dome-headed soldier appeared outside their shield within the flooding tunnel, and effortlessly stepped inside like magic.
[[C'mon, we need to get as far from this site as possible.]] Without awaiting a word of response from any of them, Ocean Master proceeded to almost telekinetically move the protective air pocket around them with the motion of his hand, practically levitating all four of them out the now-gaping hole in the immense manmade tunnel and further out into the depths of the sea off the Hokkaido shores, until he knew they would get someplace where the authorities wouldn't automatically be waiting for them.
It was only mere minutes of traveling this way before Tuule's momentary relief returned to that same intense urgency from before. [[Comrade, this diversion from those damn Heroes went on longer than I'd expected. I got a call from the Asahikawa City team in the middle of it all. I need to get over there and get them back to HQ as soon as possible!]]
With that, Ocean Master finally redirected the whole group back to a secluded patch of shoreline, allowing Tuule to step back out onto dry land as she tore away her heavily damaged mask, while he kept his head dome protruding out the ocean surface; his eyes now focused directly to the north, envisioning the route he would need to take for what he now had in mind. [[Comrades Grenadier and Scythe are still too roughed up from the fight to go through much more for now. I'll get them back to the shore close to headquarters; then I'll head over to get the Arakisu City team back. Their mission surely must be close to completion by now as well.]]
With understanding nods and well wishes all around, Ocean Master and his two hangers-on dipped back beneath the surface and proceeded to nearly fly through the depths back for home, while Tuule had her icy blue eyes focused on the northeast from where she now stood, and with a deep and steady breath, she proceeded to start warping herself twenty meters forward a second; spotting all the places to land and spring forward from in near record time as the adrenaline rushed through her veins; silently hoping the pain in her body wouldn't be able to stop her from rescuing yet more of her comrades from danger, assuming they hadn't managed to get themselves captured already.
"EVERYONE, GET AWAY FROM THE TUNNELS! PLEASE EVACUATE THE STATION AT ONCE!"
Tenya's voice thundered out from the tunnels the moment he could finally see the daylight ahead as he continued to fly on his feet. The moment the first of the listening station employees could hear his warning, it seemed to ignite a powder keg of a reaction from all other station hands and police officers about (having long since evacuated the civilians upon hearing what was going on that required the Heroes' involvement), as they all quickly began to run en masse for the streets below, especially when they could all start to feel the ground starting to rumble alongside the growing roar approaching the tunnel mouths.
At the very same moment the last of the police managed to finally start descending the stairs back to the street, Tenya finally came flying through the air out of the tunnel; his Recipro Burst's final seconds launching him over the lip of the descending angle of the rails and out into the open.
Not even a second after, as he and Yui continued to soar through the air across the interior of the train station and over the railing dividing the platforms to the street below; a veritable high-pressure geyser of sea water came erupting out right on his tail, flowing freely through the train station and out onto the streets, forcing all onlookers to hurriedly spread apart away from the station.
In the few seconds left that they were both still airborne, and seeing the unforgiving ground they were about to crash land on, Yui hurriedly reached for the one remaining pouch of her belt that wasn't empty, and upon pulling out a small cotton swab, hurriedly threw it down for where she could only figure Tenya's trajectory was going to take them. And as it began to fall, the swab quickly grew to the size of three large busses standing side-by-side, providing the perfect cushioning in just the nick of time, as she and Tenya landed square in the middle of it.
Shortly after the two Heroes had finally come to a stop with a safe landing, the deluge from the train tunnels finally seemed to come to an end, as the explosion of water died down with the tunnels having finally finished completely flooding. With the threat of the ongoing flood in the streets having been defused as quickly as it had come, the police were once more moving in to try and maintain order among the panicked civilians and train station employees, while Tenya and Yui hurriedly climbed back down from the giant cotton swab landing pad to the shin-deep water on the streets.
As Tenya was fighting to regain his breath as the police and media were already starting to step in to try and get some kind of answers, Yui was making her way for the most open part of the cordoned off streets, looking all around to make sure there was enough room for what she had to do next. Thankfully, catching on to what she was thinking, Tenya quickly got back to his full alertness as he began motioning urgently for all onlookers around: "Everyone, please step back!"
The moment everyone did as Tenya suggested, Yui set the shrunken train in the palm of her hand onto the shallowest part of the street, before hurriedly backing away and then putting her fingertips together. In the blink of an eye, the once empty and spacious road was now filled by the fully re-grown three-car bullet train, earning numerous shocked gasps and exclamations from the crowds of civilians and authorities alike, only to then be followed by just as many cheers once Knightfall finally emerged into the daylight, closely joined by Tetsutetsu, Pony, and all of the visibly unharmed civilians and train employees, who all looked like they were about to fall to their knees and shower all the surrounding Heroes with praise for saving their lives as they had.
Naturally, the police and media once more came flooding in, primarily around the much more familiar face of Knightfall, and began all-but shouting all of their questions in regard to what exactly had happened in the tunnel and who was responsible. Of course, there was only so much he could realistically answer them with; managing to stay fully professional throughout and redirecting the discussion to the reminder that all the hostages were successfully saved, and that he had his four faithful and driven interns to thank for helping make it so.
Of course, in the end, the more persistent of the journalists ultimately came back around to the one most pressing question: "You were all able to save the civilians most in danger, but what of the Villains responsible?"
Thankfully, the police were aware enough to see that none of the Heroes had the answers the media was looking for, and thus helped herd them off with promises of further explanations from higher authorities in the inevitable press conference; finally giving Knightfall and his four students a chance to just breathe after the last of the rescued civilians finally stopped showering them with their endless thanks.
Looking back to the half-flooded train station up above, still now at least raining water down onto the road, Tetsutetsu instinctively asked: "Hey, Sensei…you don't think those Villains…went in there not expecting to come out, do you?"
A gravelly sigh escaped Knightfall's throat as he resolutely shook his head in denial. "Not a chance. The way that one with the wind blade-producing arms was talking before they made their escape, it's clear he was addressing a third party. They had some kind of backup we never even knew about. Besides, once word of this situation reaches the other Heroes here in Hokkaido and the other islands through the Hero Network, it's only a matter of time before the aquatic-centered Pros come here to help repair the tunnel and pump the water out. It would only take a couple of days at most; no Villains would be reckless enough to sacrifice themselves for something so short-term."
Taking in his teacher's sound reasoning, Tenya almost failed to notice how soon Knightfall and his fellow interns' eyes were once more upon him, until the Asteroid Hero suddenly announced: "After all, right now I think what we need to focus on the most right now is following Ingenium-kun's reasoning that our persistent Villain trio may be directly connected with the refugee town his classmates are working in for their internships, wouldn't you all agree?"
"Agree with what now?" The sudden interjection of Mei Hatsume's voice nearly caused all five Heroes to jump with surprise, while she was simply leaning in to listen, swaying back and forth on the heels of her feet with a completely absentminded grin on her face.
"Hatsume-san, you're still here?!" Tenya instinctively asked once his heart had stopped racing from the shock, while she was already intrusively peeking in on her inventions still strapped to his arms; as well as the wear and tear on his and Tetsutetsu's costumes.
"Well, yeah; a hostage situation and hijacking at a train station made all the lines have to stop, and a flood isn't gonna help that, either, so I decided to just stick around and see what happens. So, did my Super Cooler Electric Boosters do the trick for you or what?! I saw the way you came flying out; they performed beautifully, didn't they?! Bet you all ain't doubtin' the ingenuity of my babies now, right?! Your suits could definitely use some patching up, though! Hey, hey, why don't you leave them with me and point me to your best Support Office here? I could have your costumes spick and span and better than ever in no time with more upgrades than you can even count!"
Thankfully, Tenya was able to start motioning for Mei to slow her roll and dial back the over-eagerness a few notches, while Knightfall couldn't help but laugh at such youthful vigor as hers. "That really won't be necessary right now, Hatsume-san, but you have our thanks regardless. Your boosters were indeed a great help for us all in the end, through Ingenium-kun's quick thinking and reflexes. Right now we need to start following up on a potential lead regarding the Villains responsible for this incident."
With that reminder, Tenya visibly lit up. "Of course, Sensei; but it would hardly do to not at least give Bezpalov-san, Ashido-san and Jirou-san a heads up of our arrival first."
With that, he hurriedly fished out his cellphone, while Pony was doing the same herself, much to the expressed confusion of her classmates: "I wanna call Reiko-chan and Monoma-san, tell 'em we just got in our first for really reals fight wit' Villains and saved everybody! They're gonna be sooo proud!"
However, just as the two students pulled up the main screens on their phones, they were both stricken silent and still with what they were seeing projected on their screens; as were Tetsutetsu, Yui and Knightfall when they could hear a growing commotion from the civilians, media and police all around, who were all either checking their own phones, or looking at TV displays or the massive screens on several building faces.
They were all showing one or two of the exact same things, with numerous different news station headlines reading the same things: 'SURPRISE VILLAIN ATTACK IN ASAHIKAWA CITY DESTROYS HOKKAIDO'S HERO NETWORK CENTRAL TOWER! BLIZZARD HERO WHITEOUT AND INTERNS SAVE PUBLIC AND DETAIN ONE SUSPECT!'
'EARLY MORNING ASSAULT ON KAPENTA HERO AGENCY IN ARAKISU CITY LEAVES HERO HEADQUARTERS IN RUINS! REPORTS OF ONE HERO BEING ABDUCTED, WITH MANY MORE INJURED! THREE SUSPECTED VILLAINS TAKEN INTO LOCAL HOSPITAL UNDER POLICE CUSTODY!'
The four interns and their teacher could all collectively feel their hearts plummet into their stomachs as they kept reading and listening to these headlines over and over again. Tenya didn't even realize his hand holding his phone was already starting to shake, before a fire of worry and determination ignited in his chest, turning to address his wide-eyed mentor (at least being so underneath the opening in his rock helmet).
"SENSEI! Our friends from both our classes were interning in Arakisu and Asahikawa! If we're only just now hearing about this, then these incidents had to have happened practically in unison with our recent battle! This can't possibly be a coincidence!" To his relief, though, Knightfall didn't even hesitate to nod in show of his being of the same thought.
"Between flooding the tunnel to the main island and disabling the Hero Network tower for all of Hokkaido, as well as an assault on your friends' Agency that directly deals with the town you believe our Villains came from, I can't imagine it being any other way. Everyone, reach out and see if your friends in the mentioned cities are alright! Once you do, we're moving out to reconvene!"
With all of their spirits lifted that their mentor was taking such initiative, the students all proceeded to start speed-dialing their respective classmates; with Tenya's recent suspicions driving him to call Nikolay, Mina and Kyouka first; simply to make sure they were all okay before anything else.
But when he ended up receiving a 'No Signal' message instead, he could feel a frigid sweat start to bead upon his furrowed brow. He was already just about to kick off into overdrive to sprint all the way there himself if he had to, his nervousness for their safety already had him feeling so wired.
BRRRING!
The moment he heard his phone suddenly ring, Tenya nearly hammered the answering button through the body of his phone, he mashed down on it so hard.
"Iida-san, thank goodness you're there! I'm sorry, but something has just happened here that—"I know, Yaoyorozu-san…I just saw the news talking about it over here!" It was still an immense relief for him to hear Momo on the other end, for all intents and purposes sounding unharmed. However, it could only do so much to help him while knowing three of their friends were still unaccounted for.
"We've just had a situation occur in Sapporo as well! I think…I think something much bigger is happening all around Hokkaido right now! I just tried calling the others at the Kapenta Hero Agency, but got no signal from there! What about you? Are you and your partners alright over there?"
For a moment, Momo gave no answer, and if Tenya hadn't already known better, he would have assumed his call had gotten cut off somehow. But finally, when he heard a heavy sigh on the other end, he could once more feel that twinge of semi-relief.
"I won't lie to you, Iida-san; we've all gotten quite roughed up from our fight…but we were able to at least capture one of the people responsible…although it's what we saw them do that has me the most worried."
The moment she said this, Tenya could feel his heart momentarily stop, the only natural question to follow coming automatically: "What were their Quirks you could see, Yaoyorozu-san? Don't leave out any details."
He could hardly imagine Momo didn't pick up on the sudden increase in focused intensity in his voice, but she answered straightforwardly nonetheless: "Well…for the most part there were three of them. One of them…I don't know how else to explain it, but it was as though he was able to take the full force of a direct physical attack and directly transpose it onto the attacker themselves without even having to take it himself. It made fighting him head on virtually impossible, but thanks to Monoma-san's Quirk, he's the one we were actually able to capture. The other two…they got away, however. One of them had a Finger Gun Quirk, able to fire machine gun-like rounds from all of his fingers…and the other one, it was as though he was actually able to rewind the trajectory of projectiles and debris alike, making them dangerous flying weapons all over again."
Tenya couldn't hold in the instinctive gasp of confirmation he answered Momo's explanation with, and the way she went completely silent made him know that she'd heard it as well. Knowing her, he had the utmost faith that she had to have the same suspicion that he did, but he knew he needed to confirm it before doing anything else. "Yes…the Villains that attacked over here…one of them had what I can only describe as some kind of Grenade Launcher Quirk he could fire out of cannon barrels in his wrists…and another one who could make blades or spears out of the air with every movement of his arms. And…there was a girl. I don't know if I should describe her Quirk as Warping or some kind of Warp Speed dashing, but it was as though she was able to be in one place then another in the literal blink of her eyes."
This time, Tenya jolted when he heard Momo give a gasp of surprise of her own. "Iida-san, that sounds just like the girl that came in from out of nowhere and stopped us from apprehending the other two! She even looked as though she'd recently been in a battle from the spare moment I was actually able to look at her! All of them were clearly foreign in looks, and none of them spoke Japanese either…but I could recognize they were speaking—
"—Russian. Yes, same as our Villains, too." Tenya could feel a sense of pure vindication building in every fiber of his being the moment Momo unknowingly confirmed all of his suspicions, and justified his next train of overall planning. Hell, for all he knew, he'd probably just done the same for her as well.
"Iida-san…I think we both may have the same idea where these Villains came from…and more importantly, what we need to do next." Momo stated as calmly as she could in these circumstances, with Tenya tightening his grip on his phone as he could already feel his spirit burning in agreement.
"Indeed I do, Yaoyorozu-san. I believe something very bad is going on in that refugee town Bezpalov-san and Ashido-san are working in. However, their Hero Agency was just destroyed in a full-blown assault at the same time as both our respective battles. The first thing we need to do is get over to Arakisu City, reconvene with them and make sure they and Jirou-san are all okay; and then with them and their instructors, compile everything we know, and formulate a plan together."
Tenya could just feel how hard Momo's heart wrenched at the confirmation of her worst fears, that three of her friends and classmates had gotten directly attacked by who-knew how many Villains, and neither of them had any idea of their overall condition. However, just as he knew he still felt; so too did Momo feel her natural Hero's heart start racing with a drive all her own as her eyes were now looking in the direction she knew Arakisu City to be. "You're right, Iida-san…and I have much confidence our instructor has the same idea as we do right now. We shouldn't stall any more than we already have."
As soon as Tenya voiced his agreement and swore to meet her and her fellows at the Arakisu City hospital, he hung up and immediately realized that Knightfall's shadow was now looming over him without his even realizing it.
"I take it you're already prepared to head out north, Ingenium-kun?" The deep sound of Knightfall's voice, alongside the discerning eyes of his fellow interns, made it difficult for Tenya to guess just what their overall response to his boldness was going to be.
But then, he could see the faint trace of an approving smile start forming through the opening in his mentor's helmet, with Tetsutetsu and Pony quickly following suit, as the Iron boy loudly proclaimed: "It's about time, I can't stand just waiting around here when our pals need us! C'mon, let's get a move on!"
With a good-humored chuckle, Knightfall followed: "Real Steel-kun and Rocketti-chan got in touch with their classmates in Asahikawa City and shared virtually everything you told us about our Villains and their potential hideaway…and I have reason to believe at least one of their friends on the other end may have said the same, thanks to your classmate interning that way as well. It sounds to me as though everyone is just about on the same page."
Tenya felt immense gratitude building inside as he hurriedly got to his feet. "Yes, Sensei! But, with the way things turned out here, are we really in a position to actually leave Sapporo?"
A firm hand clasping onto Tenya's shoulder from his mentor diffused any remaining uncertainty as Knightfall looked back to the gathered authorities. "You may not know my fellow Pros back at the office nearly well enough, but I know for a fact they can handle this whole city without me for a short while. These Villains of ours and their apparent partners have proven themselves a greater threat to Hokkaido as a whole. As such it stands to reason that Heroes from different Agencies need to come together in order to address and neutralize that threat…and we can't properly do that without checking in with your friends in Arakisu City and painting ourselves a greater picture of just what we're up against."
With Knightfall's blessing given in every way but plain writing; Tenya felt rejuvenated and ready to go racing back out to reunite with his friends, just as surely as his fellow interns were eager to do the same. And as such, knowing they would all be heading to the same place in the end; the four intrepid interns of the Asteroid Hero, Knightfall, followed in his wake as they began to race through Sapporo (with an eavesdropping and subsequently super-eager Mei Hatsume quickly following after them on her own motorized roller skates), aiming to get up north to Arakisu City as soon as possible, so they could finally combine their forces and enact the plan that would put a stop to this small army of Villains and whatever diabolical grand scheme they had to be cooking up that had called for such a multi-pronged plan of attack.
And there is the new chapter for the week, everyone. I'm having a lot of fun experimenting with these fights and all these lesser-explored students' Quirks in conjunction with one another. I hope that all made this all the more entertaining for all of you. Maybe leave a review letting me know how you think I did here, please.
with all our intended Heroes for the climax of the Hokkaido Arc officially being made aware of the overlying danger, it's time for the overall climax to finally start approaching. I hope you're all as excited deep down as I am.
Until then, I hope you all have a great rest of your week, a great start to your summer, and I will see you all with the next chapter on 05/14!