Aiya Komatso rushes over to her teammate where he lies on the ground in pieces amidst his empty uniform. The pixie dust slips between her fingers, running to the floor in a useless trail.

"What happened?" Takara asks frantically. She's willing to pause the exercise to check on him.

"I don't know," the blonde exclaims. "He just shattered like glass!"

Tears begin to prick at her eyes. And to think she's been criticizing him in her head. She knows she could have saved him if she were quicker.

The pixie sinks to her knees, her scraped wings folding closed behind her. "Go on and capture me," she says to her shoulder to the purple team. "I won't fight you."

"Aiya..." Takara trails off, crouching next to her friend.

"Please," she mumbles, wiping a tear from her face.

The brunette unrolls her tape and reaches for her friend when she is harshly flung back as if hit by an invisible force. Takara hits the alley wall hard, and pain blooms across the back of her head. She's lucky she can grow jade everywhere else, otherwise that would have hurt a lot more; however, the lack of jade on her scalp is unfortunate, as she has nothing to protect herself there.

Sugita hits the wall beside her, pinned there like his teammate. He begins firing off small plasma grenades, but his hands get held back. A gleaming, sharp object is floating up against his throat, drawing a line of blood.

Aiya looks at her opponents in shock, seeing their pale shards holding their uniforms down and slicing up their skin. They struggle against their restraints, but every time they shift, they draw more of their own blood.

"I don't think so," Hirose's voice chides ominously behind Aiya. The sound echoes around, like it can't decide where it wants to be. The girl whips around to see the scattered shards pull his clothes up to a standing position. His body reforms in his floating clothes, all the pieces hovering around in the general location of where they once were. The sight reminds Aiya of a house of cards, like he could be blown away by a gentle breeze. Gaps from his forearm indicate those are the pieces holding Takara and her teammate down.

"Get them," Hirose says. He sends more pieces of his broken body over to keep Takara down as she begins to fight back. As much as Sugita tries, he can't move to defend himself without drawing blood, so Aiya ties him up easily. Takara on the other hand...

She swings a rocky fist at Aiya, causing her to fumble the tape. Takara clenches her fists to hide the soft insides of her hands from the attacking glass. Shards plink off her jade armor as she pulls away from the wall, ripping her uniform. Takara advances on Aiya who flutters back, stumbling and scuffing her feet with a wince. Her scraped wings can't lift her as much as she anticipated.

Hirose scowls, and the full cloud of glass pieces rushes after Takara, letting his clothes fall limp to the ground again. She swings her arms at the larger shards, but the small ones burrow their way between the jade crystals. It feels as though her skin is on fire as the glass bites into her flesh. She falls to her hands and knees in agony.

Aiya takes this as her chance to capture her, wrapping the blue tape around the brunette girl. The moment the tape is secured, all of Hirose's pieces rush back into his clothes, forming the rough shape of the boy.

"C'mon," he says brusquely, sparing the purple team one more glance before running off.

Aiya gives them an apologetic look. "I'm sorry."

Takara shrugs it off. "No worries, we're playing to win."

The pixie nods and flies off on her scraped wings, knowing she'll have to get them healed to reverse the damage of being thrown to the ground. Aside from that, she's surprised to note there's not a single place where a piece of Hirose's glass pierced the delicate membranes. Or even touched them, for that matter. She shakes her head, astonished at the amount of control and focus that must have taken.

•°•☆•°•

Takara and Sugita sit on the ground of the alley, tied up in the sky blue tape that signifies their defeat. The girl retracts all her jade crystals, knowing there was nothing more she could have done.

"Well, that's a recommended student for you," Sugita says. He carefully wipes his bleeding hands on the hem of his uniform.

"He's a recommended student‽" Takara asks in surprise, before recognizing the sheer power he just attacked them with. "Of course he was."

"At least that's what he said last night at dinner. He didn't disclose his quirk, but his fall seemed suspicious. If he's that fragile, I can't imagine he would be hanging out in high places."

Takara sighs, rubbing her skin where the hundreds of tiny pieces tried to bury themselves in her flesh. "You're right. But Aiya looked pretty shocked by it too. Seeing her like that made me almost positive he had actually..."

She trails off uncomfortably, but Sugita shakes his head. "I would assume he didn't tell her about his quirk for that exact reason. It gave them a tactical advantage to spring that on us."

The two students remain sitting in the alleyways, listening to the distant sounds of fighting.

"I'm sorry we got out this early," Takara says to break the silence. "I thought for sure we'd get more people out."

Sugita observes her patiently. "They got the jump on us," he states, shrugging. "Besides, getting three people out before this should be enough to get a decent score. The yellow team wasn't suited to fight against us, and it was a mistake for the black team to split up."

Takara thinks back to the girl who was all on her own, lurking in a dead end. Her shadowy form looked like a ghost, like she could pass straight through a wall if not for the web of light surrounding her that made her actually solid.

"It probably wasn't her idea," Takara speculates. "Either her teammate ran off without her, or they got eliminated and she was able to escape. To be fair, she was hiding when we found her."

"It could have been part of her team's plan," Sugita counters. "She fought back when we ran for her. That team could have gotten a lot of points if she was never found."

When the girl had shot those glowing projectiles at them, Sugita met them mid-air with his plasma grenades, causing them to detonate upon collision. Takara has to admit, he has amazing aim. Sugita strikes her as someone who has tirelessly refined his quirk.

They continue to discuss the results of their first activity until the end of the exercise is announced. Takara easily grows jade to cut through the blue tape binding her upper arms to her body, then goes to help her teammate. With that, they find the main road and head back to the entrance.

Sensei McCaffery brings his class together around him, so he can commend them on their fight. "That was an incredible performance of your skills. We'll get back inside and view your results. Head on back and change."

As they walk, Takara catches up with Kaede who trails the smell of burnt hair behind her. Sure enough, her long auburn braid is singed and smoking. "What happened‽"

The pixie pulls the braid over her shoulder and pats the burned area. "I got into it with Morita and her partner," she explains, gesturing behind them. The girl in question is walking next to a tall muscular boy with hair like liquid gold. His expression clearly says that he wants Morita to stop talking to him as he limps down the path, his uniform torn and bloody. Kaede continues, "They put up a crazy good fight."

"Who were you teamed with?"

A tan boy falls into line next to the two girls. "That'd be me." His gold eyes glitter in the sun, and Takara notices his pupils are slitted like a cat's. He has shaggy brown hair that just barely brushes his jaw with fuzzy round ears poking out from the top of his head. He grins, showing off his long canines. Blood trails down the side of his head and from his nose, but it has already dried and is beginning to flake away. From under the sleeve of his uniform, Takara can see part of an abstract tattoo inked on his bicep.

Geez, we're only fifteen, why does he have a tattoo?

"Tatsuo Araya," he introduces himself with a calm, rolling voice. But his intense eyes seem to hold Takara in her place as he studies her. He smiles even broader, standing tall. "We nearly won, but you'll see that soon enough."

Takara introduces herself and looks around at the other students. "So who did win?"

"Well, I know Aiya's team was still fighting the black team when time was called," Kaede explains.

"We took down a girl on that team," Takara recalls. "They had split up."

"Wait, what? You eliminated one of them?" Araya asks, furrowing his brow. He shares a look with Kaede. "'Cause both were still on the field at the end."

"Do you think they cheated?" Takara asks in a hushed whisper, thinking back to the timid girl they had tied up.

"Maybe." Kaede shrugs. "But we're gonna have to watch the review. I'm sure they'll show what happened."

"And if they did cheat, that means we'll place higher," Araya reasons, putting a skip in his step.

"It's gonna have to depend on the amount of eliminations, I think," the redhead points out.

"Either way, I'm excited to see how this stacks up," Takara exclaims, looking up at her friend.

The students split up to change back into their uniforms then meet back in the classroom. Sensei McCaffery stands at the front of the room, ready with a projection on the board. "Alright, let's get into it," he says, clicking a remote. "I'll give the points afterwards."

The projection displays ten different feeds of all the teams preparing for battle. Takara catches a glimpse of Morita showing off her quirk, her hulking partner backing away as she lights herself on fire. Takara has to stifle a giggle, remembering her own first encounter with Morita.

Most teams set out, beginning their search for either a hiding place or other students. The screen cuts to one feed of the black team in the reception area of an office building. A petite, stocky girl with two brown pigtails and floppy ears has a polaroid camera aimed at her partner, the girl made of shadows. The brunette has a file folder strapped to her belt on one side, a camera case on the other.

She snaps a picture and shakes it out, examining it before giving her partner a nod. "Hide as best you can," she instructs as she returns the camera to its case.

The shadow girl leaves in a rush. Her dark hair trails behind her in a smoky cloud, the ends dissipating in gaseous whirls. Meanwhile, the brunette places the picture on a coffee table. Right before their eyes, she reaches straight into the image, her hand disappearing into the flat surface.

Takara would be impressed with that magic trick if not for something more interesting and impossible happening immediately after.

The girl pulls her hand back out, holding onto the dark hand of her teammate. Though a painfully tight squeeze, the girl in the picture climbs from the paper, stretching and tearing the edges as she goes. The brunette remains focused, feet planted on the ground as she pulls. Her face flushes red with the effort. Sweat beads on her brow as she pulls a perfect copy of her teammate from the picture. They both fall to the floor as the shadow girl breaks free. The polaroid sits in tatters on the table as if it were the victim of a child's art project.

The copy of the shadow girl stands straight. She truly is a perfect twin to the real girl, down to the uniform with the black sash tied around her thigh. "Come on," the brunette instructs, brushing herself off. She exits the building and takes off in the opposite direction as her real teammate. The copied girl follows closely behind.

Understanding dawns upon Takara and her friends as they watch the scene unfold. So we eliminated the real teammate, she realizes joyfully. That means the capture counts towards our score!

The view switches between teams, showing their confrontations and captures. Takara watches with interest, seeing some of her classmates dominating the competition. One such team is the black team. Any sort of projectile passes straight through the copy of the shadow girl. She calmly walks up to teams and ties the capture tape around them without being fazed by punches or kicks.

The feed switches over to Takara's confrontation with the blue team. Everyone lets out a cry of shock as Hirose hits the ground, shattering. A quick look over to the boy shows that despite the fractures across his delicate skin, he's still alive and well, much to their disbelief.

Things get truly tangled and interesting when Kaede and Araya, the pink team, come across Morita and her partner on the green team. Morita's fiery hand grabs onto the fairy's long braid and yanks her down. The blond boy snatches Kaede out of the air and puts her in a chokehold. The head of a sunflower blooms from his other hand, and he aims it at Araya, shooting seeds.

Araya has to put his arms up to avoid the onslaught. He backs down the street they came from, trying to find cover as his vision is obscured by his arm. Instead, he backs into a massive flower as it sprouts from the ground to tower over him.

The sunflower seeds burrow deep into the concrete and burst up in a wall blocking the road. The thick stems and leaves weave into a barrier, trapping Araya with the green team. Morita lights herself on fire to attack Araya as her teammate grapples with Kaede to get the green capture tape around her.

The pixie smacks the blond boy in the face, golden dust scattering over him. He curses loudly and begins to float. His sneakers scuff against the ground as he flails to get back down. Kaede takes the opportunity to escape from his grasp and hit him with a flying punch.

However, the boy has recovered from his shock enough to dodge the hit. He grabs Kaede's wrist before she can pull away and forces her shoulder down. She flutters down to get her arm back in a comfortable position, and the boy uses this to anchor himself to the ground and loop the green tape around her.

He secures it around her folded wings, causing Kaede to topple to the ground. The boy brushes at his clothes, trying to loosen the pixie dust. His feet settle back on the ground.

With the sunflower boy's attention elsewhere, Araya is given a moment to breathe. The tattoo on his arm begins to glow, and his body sprouts sandy fur as it grows and morphs. Morita stumbles as she's suddenly faced with a snarling lion.

The girl shakes off her shock, only to be batted aside with a massive paw. She flies a few meters before hitting a wall and falling to the ground in a heap. Her fire sputters out.

With most of the pixie dust cleared away, the sunflower boy runs from the lion; however, his gravity still isn't completely back to normal. He fires off more seeds, but it no longer concerns the predator. The blond swipes his hand, digging a line in the concrete with the seeds and grows the flowers tall and sturdy. The barrier blocks him from the opposite team, buying him time to run.

Araya leaps for the wall of green, claws and gnashing teeth ripping through it, but his ears flick around upon hearing the gasping whimper of his teammate.

"Wings," she cries, wincing as Araya lowers his head to her. He chuffs a sound of acknowledgement and extends a paw, retracting his claws, to roll her onto her stomach. She opens and closes the silver and gold wings, stretching life back into the delicate appendages while loosening her restraints.

With a nod from Kaede, Araya continues his assault on the green barrier, ripping his way through. He follows a trail of golden dust down the road and into a side street.

As he bounds away, the feed suddenly cuts to the black team standing over Morita. The shadowy copy holds the girl down, even as she covers herself in flames, and ties her in black tape.

"Valiant effort," the girl with the pigtails admits as she leans up against the wall. Her electric blue eyes lazily scan over the tan girl.

Morita sighs heavily, blowing a dark curl from her face. "Yeah sure, let's see you fight me yourself, huh?"

The brunette smiles. "Some other time, I'm sure." She jerks her chin at the copy. "Let's go, the others should be close."

In an adjacent street, Araya raises a paw to swipe at the sunflower boy, but he dodges to the inside, landing a hard punch to the lion's nose. The animal rears back, ears flattening to his head as he shakes his mane of saffron fur.

He growls and rushes the blond again, opening his wide maw. The boy fires seeds into the lion's mouth and lands another hit as Araya starts coughing.

As agile as the sunflower boy has proven to be, he can't avoid the lion as he pounces, both paws crashing into his muscled chest and slamming him to the ground. In a smooth motion, the lion transforms back into Araya's human body as he ties the blond's bloody hands with pink tape.

Araya stands, but a weighted net is thrown over him from behind. The copied shadow girl immediately climbs over his fallen form, ignoring his struggling as she binds his hands.

Shards of pale glass descend on the black team from every direction. They pass straight through the shadow girl with puffs of black, but otherwise don't harm her. The girl with the pigtails, on the other hand, shields her face as she rummages around in her file organizer. She brushes the damp hair from her forehead, smearing red. The blood starkly contrasts her quickly paling skin. Despite her fatigue, she throws her net launcher aside and pulls out another large gun.

Aiya can be seen retreating into an alley as the small girl fires the flamethrower, heating the air around her and dispersing the porcelain shards. She tries her best, but with the other students lying prone nearby and so many openings, she can't fully protect against the glass as it converges from all sides. The shards that can avoid the flames pummel the girl and slice into her skin. She falls to the ground with a cry of pain.

However, no tape is around her as the sensei's voice announces the end of the exercise. The fire dissipates as the tumult of battle fades away. Hirose uses his free-flying pieces to cut his classmates free from their tape. The pieces then all converge on Hirose's form, and he gives Ohara a nod of acknowledgement.

She returns the gesture, sweat dripping from her pale face. She idles behind her classmates as they return to the training ground entrance. Covertly, she approaches the copy of the shadow girl and draws two horrible blades from hip sheaths.

Takara imagines the most terrifying knife she can, but even that would look like a butter knife next to these daggers. The blades are blood-red with a shark-tooth serrated edge, adorned with a handle that seems to be a spiral of bone and bronze. Molded into each hilt is the skull of a small bird. Takara hopes it's just a carving.

It's only now that she can see how beat up the copy has become. Black liquid drips from the billowing shadows, and her form has holes punched through it.

"Thank you," the girl says to the copy, raising both knives to its neck. "You're relieved from service." She closes her bright blue eyes and slices both blades across. The copy turns to pure ink, falling to create a dark stain on the pavement. The brunette takes one more look at the inkblot before doing the same to her summoned weapons and following her classmates down the road. 

Featured Character: Tatsuo Araya
Quirk: Animal Transfiguration
Likes: Hammocks

Featured Character: Haru Ozaki
Quirk: Sunflower
Likes: Boxing