Nakano Rin had a surge of emotions crossing her chest in rapid succession.
Disdain, anger, frustration, surprise, and more frustration, with a little envy creeping in the middle. There was also a touch of embarrassment, but that only made her react more irascibly.
Her Quirk activated and bone extensions as hard and resistant as metal emerged from her fingers.
The expensive material her full-body suit was made of allowed the claws to emerge without damage, the Heroine's combat senses sharpened, and her already-frowning brow only twisted further at the disobedience of the brat she was supposed to help.
Nakano Rin recognized Terumi Tetsumaru as soon as she was given the mission details a few days ago. She remembered seeing him at the Sports Festival of the prestigious UA, an Academy she couldn't get into in her youth.
She saw the shinobi's condescending attitude in all the competitions. She did not like it, at all.
A spoiled brat who was lucky enough to possess a useful and versatile Quirk, despising the efforts of others with his bored and disinterested posture, not moving a muscle and letting his Sand do everything for him.
Great was Nakano Rin's satisfaction when the little sister, Terumi Mei, kicked the smug Tetsumaru's butt and advanced to the Tournament finals.
Things should have ended there. She didn't know him, he didn't know her. There was no way to ever interact with said brat in life, and if the opportunity arose, Nakano Rin would refuse it.
But circumstances led her to this moment.
Apparently, the Villains were hiding in the city, in her city, and the brat came in person because, for reasons no one explained to Nakano Rin, he was the only one capable of finding them.
It was a bitter pill to swallow. She, a professional, would wait in reserve while he, a student, operated in the field.
Had the authorities gone crazy? Were Terumi Tetsumaru's connections such that he received such treatment despite his status as a Hero-in-Training?
It was unfair. It was degrading.
She let the anger move her actions, sliding under the punch of a horrible monster, scoring furrows in its flesh with her claws. Whether it took effect or not, she didn't stay to find out.
Nakano Rin took a great leap, bracing herself on the back of a Nomu over two meters tall. Her muscles tensed and force gathered, suddenly exploding like a spring brought to its limit.
She shot off, stealing a glance at Terumi Tetsumaru's position. The smug boy was evading and striking with ferocity and precision, one that she herself could not match.
She cleared those thoughts, concentrating on the enemy who, to her disgust, continued to ignore her. In fact, almost all the monsters ignored the Heroes, more interested in pursuing Terumi Tetsumaru.
—Look at me!— Nakano Rin hissed, tearing the creature's wings and interrupting its assault. A hint of a smile formed under her mask, but quickly distorted into a grimace of panic when another creature appeared before her, hidden by the larger frame of the first.
And this one was indeed looking at her.
The Nomu swung its long arm formed by barbed, whip-like extensions, violently lashing her side.
—Ugh!— she groaned, a sharp, electrifying stab of pain running through her body in waves. Her suit tore, bleeding marks were carved into her flesh and the force of the blow threw her off course, sending her crashing into a shop window.
The glass flew in all directions, some sticking into her freshly opened wounds and worsening the painful sensation.
The woman slid across the floor, leaving a faint trail of blood in her wake until she finally hit a wall.
She gasped heavily, gritting her teeth in pain and frustration. Her communicator had been damaged at some point, so she no longer heard the voices of her colleagues and had no idea of their situation, just as they probably didn't know about hers.
But Nakano Rin refused to become the laughingstock of Yokohama.
She got up with difficulty, ignoring the searing pain and pulling out the pieces of glass clinging to her flesh with her fingers.
Motivated by the least laudable reasons, Nakano Rin emerged outside once more with her gaze fixed on the brat she was supposed to protect.
Before she could call out to him again and remind him that he should leave here, Terumi Tetsumaru seemed to flicker in his place and momentarily vanished from her sight.
In less than a second, his figure materialized in front of her, ramming into her with the force of a car and breaking some of her bones.
The Heroine's eyes almost popped out of their sockets and her lungs emptied of air, blood and bile quickly rising up her throat in a race to reach the outside.
Both roughly entered the store Nakano Rin had just left, and the confused Heroine passed out just before a monstrous, slender figure landed heavily in the spot she had occupied an instant ago.
**********************************
The fight between the Nomu and the low-ranking Heroes of Yokohama caused havoc that was difficult to miss in the surroundings.
Although weak, these creatures still had enough strength to give a very hard time to Heroes whose solo combat skills were mediocre or directly nonexistent.
Tetsumaru had managed to get rid of five Nomu before the Heroes intervened in the fight, but the remaining twenty presented an incredibly tough challenge for the low-level Professionals.
Traffic Warden, an agency colleague of Claw Bolt (Nakako Rin), was leading a team of Professional Heroes against the bio-engineered monsters, trying to buy Tetsumaru some space so he could retreat.
When Claw Bolt broke formation and went off on her own, that task became impossible to complete. And in any case, Traffic Warden had to admit that the boy could manage on his own and that they were the ones in a bad situation.
—Crouch!— bellowed Piston Punch, their heavyweight hitter.
Traffic Warden obeyed, the special coils in his suit bathing him in a green light that improved his mobility and allowed him to get out of the way just in time.
The next instant, the winged Nomu that was about to rip off his head was met with a powerful steel punch that sank into its chest and sent it crashing into another monster that had its back to them.
—Warden, these monsters are ignoring us and won't stop chasing the kid— Piston Punch said with a gasp as the mechanisms forming his arms retracted and reloaded.
—Any idea why that little bastard hasn't taken off?!— Tide-Siren questioned with a grimace that twisted her beautiful features, as she shot her net gun at a winged Nomu, wrapping its wings and making it fall.
—I think he can't— Traffic Warden said as he and his team moved further down the street, supporting the other three teams of local Heroes.
—What do you mean?— Piston Punch asked, preparing to slam another of his powerful punches.
Before answering, Traffic Warden activated his communicator, speaking through the shared network among the other teams for all to hear.
—Attention!— he called with a loud shout, raising his hands and using his suit's functions to throw a blinding red light that slowed the movement of a group of Nomu, allowing two members of an allied team to retreat safely.
—Terumi Tetsumaru might be hindered in some way, as he hasn't shown any signs of using his Quirk since we arrived. For now, we'll work under the assumption that the Nomu are the reason, so let's redouble our efforts and defeat them!
—...
—...
—... What's wrong?— the Hero asked after an awkward moment in which he posed coolly without anyone else seeming to be spurred on by his words.
He turned back to his colleagues with flushed cheeks, finding Piston Punch shaking his head furiously and Tide-Siren pulling the communicator out of her ear with a grimace.
A quick inspection showed him that everyone else looked just as annoyed, some of them losing concentration and taking a heavy hit as a result.
—Something is interfering with the signal, Warden. Don't use the communicators, you'll kill us with a headache— the blue-haired girl said.