Chapter 20: Mentor
I stacked absolutely everything I could against the two students. For one reason, it was because of our level difference, but for another reason, it was just because I couldn't afford to waste any time. With my skills, equipment, fighting experience, and martial arts, I planned to crush the students before they'd even know what was happening.
Of course, I didn't want to antagonize them either. They were around my age and probably wanted the best for everyone in the end, they were just in the wrong place at the wrong time.
I'd make sure not to hurt them too badly. Beyond that, I couldn't promise anything.
I began crouching, fingers curled as I took a silent breath in. Six of my eyes were on Mina, while the other three were on Kirishima. Based on their status screens, Mina was more offensive and thusly, more of a threat.
I could see the mana in the air being pulled towards Mina and Kirishima, forming into soft auras of different colors and consistencies. They weren't quite ready to attack or even defend, but they were nervous enough to be paying attention to the silence.
I could still respond as Haruto, possibly disarming them for an instant, but no, sometimes the unknown was more terrifying than anything else.
As the attacker, I could plan around their attempts to defend, and I totally planned on it.
The darkness was as clear as normally underneath the vision from my mask, and I planned to use it to my advantage. I Flew from the ground towards Mina in a straight line, my right hand outstretched towards her head. I didn't make a single sound in my attack, but Mina dodged regardless, suddenly pulling her body to the side and falling after losing her balance.
She groaned as she hit the floor.
"Ashido! What happened?!" Kirishima yelled, taking a few cautious steps towards his peer.
"I don't―I don't know! I think I'm a bit too nervous, hehe…." She was certainly trying to defuse the nervousness with a joke.
Between fighters, sometimes fists could bring upon more of a conversation than words ever could. I got Dabi to talk to me at all through my physical abilities, and I met Manami at all because of wanting to train those abilities.
Yet sometimes, words held an irreplaceable power.
This was certainly one of those times.
Before they could talk anymore, I made myself known.
"Mina Ashido, and Eijiro Kirishima," I could feel any of their growing comfort get sapped away in the face of my words. "I didn't expect to run into you two so soon. I had plans for you, but they must be put away for now."
My voice sounded polite and untroubled, as if my plan wasn't ruined by their presences at all. I also had no idea what plans I was talking about, but I spoke without thinking so I rolled with it.
"Who are you?!" Mina yelled, her jovial nature disappearing in an instant. "How do you know who we are?!"
Their hands were snapping all over the place, slowly closing in on where I was.
That would be bad if they figured it out so….
With a snap of my fingers, my water elemental held two handfuls of my white cloak and began forming small droplets of water from the ceiling, creating a veil of new sound to mask my specific direction.
"What the―" Kirishima looked around as his school uniform was pelted with water from above. "Is this your doing?"
"You're… you're trying to steal the Ultraphone, aren't you?! You won't get away with it!" Mina growled, receiving a low hum from me that I really hoped they could hear over the sounds of dripping water.
The floor was covered in about an inch of water, so I slowed the rate of water that Shui was forming. It'd be good enough for now.
I looked to my right with a few eyes and softly picked up the Ultraphone. Looking at it for just a moment. Despite the overwhelming importance of it, it just looked like a black microphone.
Oddly enough, the mana around it was more powerful than most people I'd seen. I couldn't tell where it was coming from, but I didn't focus on it too much.
I sat one foot within the water, taking the kinetic energy from it and turning it into ice, and then I laid my hand on the wall, converting that kinetic energy into electricity and turning the lights back on.
The two were temporarily blinded from the sudden shift from darkness to a bright light filling their eyes, but after a moment they looked my way, eyes wide. They must've been shocked to see me with nine eyes, an ominous mask, a cloak of pure white, and a hand with the Ultraphone.
"But… but the security on it?!" Mina yelled, her hands clenching in what I would only see as rage.
"You thought it was invincible?" I asked, a smile on my face. "It matters not. If you want your precious relic back, come and take it."
I could see nervousness fill their minds, but Mina was quite impressive to step forward first.
Even if she slipped on the ice.
She groaned as she fell on her back. It would be painful without a doubt, but she'd live.
"But first, you should focus on what you're walking on," I chuckled. "Kirishima, are you going to sit there and do nothing?"
As the opposite of Mina's courage, I could only see cowardice in Kirishima. He stood still, silent. He was shaking even. Even when….
"Your Quirk will make you into the ultimate shield. But―" I took a step forward onto the ice without hesitation, approaching Mina, who was slowly rising from her spot. She looked like she was focusing a lot more on me than not falling. My fist rocketed towards Mina's face.
Just before it could slam into hers, she was pushed aside, and my fist slammed into a human hunk of rock. He coughed as he stumbled backwards, cracks spreading from his crossed arms, where my fist slammed into.
"You must first learn how to shield," I finished, meeting Kirishima's focused and serious gaze with all nine of my eyes. That moment didn't last long as I turned three of my eyes towards Mina.
Mina flipped and slid on the ice instead of falling, finally seeming to use the athleticism that her status screen spoke of. I couldn't tell what she was thinking, but I didn't need to. The mana forming around her body told me that she was willing to use her Quirk.
"Isn't it interesting how even in a moment like this one, you're expected not to use your Quirks to stop me? No, you're supposed to wait for heroes to help you, but where are those precious heroes right about now?" I outstretched my arms, gesturing to our surroundings.
Mina's resolve softened for a moment.
Quirks were under several strict regulations for the safety of civilians, but those regulations stopped civilians from doing anything beyond protecting themselves and nearby civilians when using Quirks. That meant, attacking me was off the table.
Well, if they wanted to follow the law.
I wasn't talking like this to soften their resolves though. Meng Zhang had an image to uphold, whether people believed it or not.
"Mina Ashido, Eijiro Kirishima, will you protect yourself, or will you be beaten?" I asked, turning the lights off in an instant and Flying towards Kirishima and Slamming a fist into his jaw. I Slammed two more blows into his head, knocking him unconscious. I did it all with one hand too, with the other one holding the Ultraphone.
Sense Danger warned me of Mina's incoming acid, so I pulled Kirishima's unconscious body to my right and dodged with him. I rolled up to my feet as the acid hit the floor and melted through my ice.
"Good, Ashido. You're learning to fight," I complimented. "But watch where your acid is going. When it leaves your fingers, your control over it fades."
"I don't want your praise, or your advice!" Minia roared, the strength in her voice undoubtedly mixed with the nervousness of the dark and the unknown. "What did you do to Kirishima?!"
"Nothing worth mentioning. He'll be fine tomorrow," I spoke politely before growing serious. I received a message, but I couldn't tell from who it was from. "But I can no longer play with you. Goodbye, Ashido."
Before she could respond I Flew to the wall behind her, then I Flew directly towards her, Slamming the back of her head into the ground and sending her into unconsciousness.
With a thought, Shui collected up all the water in the room, and with some added kinetic energy, it vanished into thin air. The lights came back on, and I reopened the windows as I opened my message screen.
"We've got some issues down here, big ones," Dabi's message said, littered with typos, but understandable regardless.
I looked to the unconscious students laying on the ground, bloodied but certainly not in fatal condition. Mortal Restoration would probably heal them up to full, so….
I let out a soft sigh before nodding to myself. I Flew to the window, looking at Dabi and a crowd of heroes civilians. They looked like they were thanking him, but I couldn't tell what was happening specifically.
Was it because he saved some of them? Did they think he was a hero?
No, even if they did, he would be suspicious. With such an odd crime happening and the Police Station so close, he'd be called in for questioning one way or another. I couldn't risk that at all. If that happened, the plans of sending a message might as well be thrown into the garbage.
"I've got a plan. It's stupid, but it could work. Trust me on this one," I messaged him back.
I took a deep breath, stuffing the Ultraphone in my Inventory, and creating a handful of electricity, hoping it'd be enough.
This time, I just activated Elemental Summoning, and gladly, it worked.
A small body of pure electricity, something that was bathed in yellow light with the vague shape of a small girl. I couldn't see anything specifically with it constantly changing shape, but I thought I'd seen more boy-ish clothing compared to Shui's elegant dress.
The small elemental flipped out of the palm of my hand, growing to Shui's size and making a certainly unnecessary pose, pointing to herself.
Yo, I'm glad you're not afraid of lightning!
I blinked.
This elemental had a lot more… vibrance than Shui seemed to have.
Let's light up the skies with our awesomeness, my friend! I'm Fulgur, and you better not forget it, Minoru Mineta!
I nodded at the excitable elemental's mind-words before turning my attention to things that were more important. I wished I could've gotten an Air Elemental at a time like this one, but I had to deal with what I had.
I wondered if I needed to vocalize my thoughts with them, but I sensed that I wouldn't need to. There seemed to be some sort of hidden contract to my skill that bound us together. I wondered how that worked. Was it something that I was subconsciously accepting or was it―
I shook my head before taking a deep breath. This wasn't the time for that line of thinking.
Instead, I needed to carefully choose my next choice as my MP refilled.
The first step would be….
I turned towards the door I entered through.
My plan was simple in practice. I was going to take everything in my grasp and get Dabi out of the grasp of anyone who could stop him from fleeing. If anyone interrupted me by coming into the top floor, it'd certainly be a problem.
I looked to Fulgur and Shui, and the former excitedly nodded at my silent commands while the latter gave me a blank look. As water came from Shui, Fulgur sucked the kinetic energy from it, creating a thick wall of ice that blocked the door.
"It won't stop everything, but it'll keep everyone I detected in the building from getting in. That should buy me enough time," I nodded to myself, glancing at my supplies within my Inventory.
Seven mana crystals, a few masks, the Azure Dragon duplicates, and most importantly, the Ultraphone. All the other things were miscellaneous items, like chunks of wood of varying sizes, bottles of water, and chargeable batteries.
"With some extra room, I'll just need a place to broadcast myself. Hmm… the roof!" I crouched down, feeling the muscles within my legs bulge and expand before I Flew towards the ceiling. With Slam, Crush, Tear, Talons, Power Strike, and Mana Empowerment I struck a giant hole into the ceiling, leaping through it and landing softly.
I gave Fulgur a silent order and a few seconds later, the unconscious bodies of Mina and Kirishima rose through the hole and were laid across the ground softly. I peeked over the edge of the building, noting that I'd need to amplify my voice in order to speak.
I suddenly realized I had exactly what I needed.
With a deep breath to relax myself, I gave my two Elementals a few swift orders, causing Kirishima to be encased in a slab of ice with his arms freed. He was trapped at the very edge of the building, and any major moves would've certainly sent him barreling to his doom. His presence was already getting people to look towards the roof, so I began to move faster.
Mina's throat was pulled into my hand, allowing me to hold her body up into the air with little to no resistance.
I stepped to the edge of the building, one hand dangling Mina over the edge while the other held the Ultraphone. I left Kirishima entirely to Fulgur and Shui, who seemed fairly confident in being able to hold him in spot.
I looked into the crowd below, silently hoping and praying that no Pro-Heroes worth a dime had appeared yet, and gladly, they hadn't. Kamui Woods and Mt. Lady were both down there though. Nothing like Endeavour, Edge Shot, or All Might, but if those monsters had appeared I'd probably be planning on how to break Dabi out of prison instead of doing this.
I smiled as I let the thoughts fade away.
Now wasn't the time to think so negatively. I have a responsibility to do, so I'll do it.
The real person who I needed to be down there was, so I'd handle this, I know I would.
I took a deep breath and leaned Mina further forward, drawing the attention of the civilians and Pro-Heroes down below. I could hear confusion begin to spread, but before anyone could step forward, I made sure to make a move myself.
I took about 75% of the kinetic energy Fulgur stored up and applied it straight to my vocal cords. This move was risky and probably wouldn't work without something like Gamer's Body, but I was fortunate to not have to worry about things like that.
There were reasons why I ignored one of my Azure Dragon skills while training, never giving it even the slightest thought of using. The skill's restrictions were one thing, but the more important reason was because of the attention the skill would certainly draw.
So much of my training was built on the idea that being quiet and secretive would grant me more time to focus. Honestly, the skill was supposed to be entirely useless on this mission because the entire idea of the mission was being quiet and secretive.
I'd regret not training it but… nah, it's not worth it.
I used Azure Dragon's Roar for the first time, and, with Manami's Devotion boosts, the extra kinetic energy, the skill, and Ultraphone enhancing the roar, I created a sound I wasn't sure humans properly could.
The sound grew louder and louder, seeming to shake the very pillars of the world as windows shattered and birds fled to the sky. Mina snapped awake within my hand, blood trickling out of her ears from being so close to such a devastating sound. Kirishima woke up just the same, if freaking out more than his peer. Fulgur and Shui made sure he wouldn't fall though.
The two's mouths opened, but in the face of my Roar, I couldn't hear a word of what they uttered. They quickly fell silent as they realized the situations they were in, with Mina being held so high above the ground while Kirishima was only a few inches from being in the same situation.
Mina gripped my arm tightly, her eyes filled with understandable rage. She didn't use her acid though, probably because she couldn't see what was happening. Kirishima seemed understandably stunned, being held in such a dangerous situation and all.
I saw a man with the head of a beagle, and he was just the man who I wanted to see.
"Kenji Tsuragamae, Chief of the Police Force. You're a reasonable man. I say we talk," I grinned.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone