Mentalities [Ryuusei]

I often feel like a butterfly with broken wings

Inside the male locker rooms that were on Ground Alpha, Ryuusei opened, for the first time, the metal briefcase in which his first Hero Suit had been carefully placed by the ones who had created it. But why was he going to use it?

At the beginning of that day, Ryuusei had been called to one of his teachers office. He assumed that it would be yet another request that the boy, as Class Vice-President, had to fulfill - those kind of callups had become regular for both him and Rinkusu. However, upon arriving, what the teacher told him was the exact opposite of what the brown-haired kid expected to hear. He was to fight against one of his classmates - classmate that would remain unkown until the beginning of the sparring session - and it would be at the end of that same day, after classes ended. He was given a time, a place and one specific detail: "Bring your Hero Suit".

It was Ryuu's first time seeing it. The other kids from his class probably got excited and opened the briefcase as soon as they received. Not Ryuu though - he didn't knew what to do with it. In fact, this would be his first time wearing it... he was hoping that it would fit him. From what he was told, his Suit had been one of the most expensives to make. Despite the simple appearance, there was something very unique about it: the material. The entire costume - underwear and socks included - was made of a special fiber that derived from Ryuusei's hair, something that had been only theorized before. This had one important practical reason: it made that, when Ryuu turned invisible, the same effect would apply to the entire costume, making it so that Ryuu only had to touch his own skin instead of everything he was wearing.

Finished getting dressed, he looked it the mirror.

It fits, he thought, leaving straight away. No thought about future heroic deed, about how that would be how the entire world would see him.

As he approached the place at Ground Alpha that the teacher had indicated, his brain started to work faster.

Well, no matter what the opponent is this is going to be difficult... - he looked around at the field - This is Quirks allowed and in such an open field I'm pretty much live-bait. Maybe the person I'm facing isn't that much good at controlling their Q-

His thought process thought when he looked straight ahead and, a few meters in front of him, he saw her: Jasmine Noir.

Excellent, he thought... ironically, obviously.

He didn't knew much about the girl and they only really talked once, when he met her at the beach on one of the first weeks of school. Ryuu had only two informations about her: she was Rin's roommate and... she was strong, really strong. He didn't exactly knew her Quirk or how it worked, but, if he read the 1-A Group Chat, she had beaten the hell out of Maxi in training... and Maxi knows how to handle his Quirk pretty well. This was going to be a long afternoon. On his face, however, there wasn't a single tace of fear. Just a cold expression, one that clearly said: "Why was I chosen to do this?". Despite his tone, his words to Jas were friendly - afterall, from what he knew, he only had reasons to like her.

Hey Jas - he lifted his right hand - How are you?

How do you approach something you're about to spar? Jas was stretching... should he start doing the same?

Notes: Jas' punching bag has arrived!
Words: 610.

I often feel like a butterfly with broken wings

Turning to him, Ryuu saw on Jasmine's face the exact look that he was expecting: shock. Not one that came out of fear or something similiar... more of a surprised mixed with a little of disappointment. If Ryuu was any other guy, he would probably get mad at such reaction - even though Jas was quick do hide her initial impression with a friendly response. But Ryuu wasn't like most of other guys and he also wasn't dumb. She was expecting someone strong, but didn't get that - she got Ryuusei Igarashi, who knew fully well how weak he was. He just blindly hoped that such self-awareness proved to be somewhat favorable to him.

That's good to hear, he replied.

After responding, Ryuusei immediately felt a difference in the air. Maybe it was just his mind playing tricks to him as he kept looking at Jasmine, but his heart told him that his brain was, in fact, right: despite being at a distance of around ten meters the gap of power between Ryuu and her classmate was clear as day to him. Huge. Two complete opposites...

... But, in that large gap, Ryuusei discovered something. It was something that left him confused, yet curious and excited. Looking at Jasmine's now glowing eyes and unbreakable fighting stance, the boy who hated to fight realized something:

I'm... not afraid, was what echoed on his mind.

Not a single shiver or tremor. Not a drop of cold sweat. In the face of, what at that time, felt like unnatainable power, Ryuu wasn't nervous. Despite knowing that his chances of winning that fight were 0.01% he wasn't afraid. Calm, collected, cold. Seeing Jasmine ready to fight so quickly didn't bothered him at all. Maybe deattaching yourself from the world had its benefits...

It was a level one stealth class warrior facing off against a level 50 juggernaut class boss. What one does to try to complete a game. Face with Jas' invitation, Ryuusei responded straight away.

I was about to tell you to not go easy, but I can see that isn't going to be a problem.

She shows a lot of confidence in herself. Her posture shows that she might prefer close ranged combat. Maybe some kind of enhancement Quirk? Her eyes are glowing and she hasn't done anything particular or worth noticing so I'm taking that she can activate it at will. I have no place to hide or anything to use, so the field of combat also favors her... Odds wise she's right handed, so let's bet on that.

Let's do this then..., he said while positioning his right leg a little in front of his left one, hoping that his words would make Jas attention switch to his mouth and not his lower body.

And if I don't know her Quirk that probably means that she also doesn't know mine.

With his hands together - all fve fingers of his right hand in contact with his left hand skin -  he extended his arms and made a circular motion with both of them while blowing air out of his lungs. It was just like he was creating a big circle in front of himself... and, by consequence, a circle that separated him from Jasmine.

... come and break thorugh, he finished his previous sentence, putting both hands on his pockets and assuming a relaxed position.

It was a bluff, but if he was to at least compete in such scenario he had to be smart about it. His decoy was based on Jasmine not knowing his Quirk and Ryuusei assuming hers was some type of physical enhancer and wanting to confirm this before continuing. With that in mind, he pretended that his Quirk was something along the lines of creating unbreakable barriers out of air. If it went well, it allowed for some things: baiting Jasmine into charging first and, preferably, using her Quirk; insert the idea on her mind that there was a barrier in front of Ryuu and, because of that, she would have to destroy it, which meant landing a punch ahead of Ryuu and not on him, something he hoped would give him a window of time big enough to evade unharmed.

The blowing of air, the movement with his arms, the choice of words and the body position of extreme confidence. It was all staged in order for Jasmine to believe that he had, in fact, created a barrier. But that wasn't Ryuu's biggest bet. Even if Jasmine believed that she could just play it safe a jump above it or approach Ryuusei sideways. So why would Ryuu bet his safety, ready to leave himself in harm's way with no defense, on such a small chance?

She wouldn't switch to fight mode so fast if she didn't thrive in this scenario. And, even if subconsciously, her choice of words in saying "There's no way around this" might indicate that she isn't one to shy away from challenges. So, if she's like that, there's no way that by being presented with an unbreakable wall she wouldn't want to at least find out out if she was an unstoppable object.

Yes, Igarashi Ryuusei's entire plan to just find out the girl's Quirk while giving him a slight shot at evading it was based solely on him guessing what Jas would do while making everything in his power to persuade her into doing exactly that. No safety plan, no back-up - a straight-up bet.

It was a coin toss for a small reward, but he was willing to risk it. Who would've thought?

Notes: The fight begins!
Words: 938.

I often feel like a butterfly with broken wings

The fishing hook was now dangling underneath the water, luring in the one fish Ryuusei wanted to caught. Those were tough waters, waters that Ryuu had never dared himself to explore. In the middle of that vast sea, his small wooden boat almost turned at each wave that came in its direction. It was a big fish that Ryuu wanted to get - golden with purple eyes, a rare one they said. Despite the difficulty of that catch and his poor man's fishing rod, the youngest of the Igarashi family still tried.

Jasmine smiled.

I caught her, Ryuu thought as he sensed the fish biting onto the bait.

But he soon realized that such bite wasn't one of a innocent fish getting tricked, but it was, in fact, quite the opposite. On that situation, Ryuusei wasn't the predator - he was the prey. That wasn't a fish. It's size, it's strenght... it was a shark, a humongous shark that bit onto the fishing hook in order to pull, making Ryuu fall into the waters and become the meal for the day.

That became obvious in Ryuu's mind as soon as Jasmine took the first step.

She's too fast, it's... overwhelming.

The gap between them was too large. Was that why the teacher wanted this fight to happen? For Ryuusei to realize how uselees he is when compared to his classmates that want to become heroes? The level Jasmine was in... could he ever reach such potential? What was he expected to do? How could he ever win? Should he just quit? Stop right there and giv-

Calm down.

Yes. He could see it clearly. The chances of him winning that fightwere not 0.01% - they were exactly 0%. But... that was good. It was... comforting. It didn't meant despair, it meant something else entirely:

0.01% was easy. It meant that, as base value, I would always have a chance. It would make me relax. If it's 0%, if I don't have a single shot at winning from the get go, that means only one thing: I have to fight, fight in order to earn that .01%.

Ryuu's body was already turning to his right, using the right leg he had earlier positioned a little in front of his left one as a base, allwoing him to shift his whole body weight into that direction. At that speed, she would reach him in an instant. It was clear that, in that fight, Ryuu would always have to stay on step ahead of such raw power. He kept looking at her. She was grinning. What the hell? Her speed slowed down, she was still some meters ahead of both him and the supposed barrier.

Her fist? - looking, analysing in only some miliseconds. WIth was all that Ryuu had and he had to make it work - She has range. Wind pressure? I'm not fully escaping... What is it?!

His left leg still hadn't touch the floor, so Ryuu was still in the middle of his evading movement to the right when Jasmine was about to throw her...

... Explosions?

Boom.

The movement of Jaz's arm released an explosion that went in Ryuu's direction. It was like seeing it in slow-motion. Fighting while keepiing a cool head, having ice running through your veins... Was that what this feeling was? He could feel himself out of balance due to not being expecting an explosion to come, he knew that he was getting partially hit but... his mind didn't stop; even knowing the outcome, he kept fighting on his own way.

Creating explosions from her own body... Long range, close range, smart enough to read what I was doing... She's not even a shark - compared to me, she's a demon, but...

As Ryuu was falling, the explosion about to send him flying to the right - since that was the direction he was already shifting his body - he grabbed on one of the two capsules attached to the belt of his outfit.

... as long as I have to fight for my own chance, for that little percentage, even against a level 50 or 100, I'm going to do every little thing that I currently can to make sure that I can...

In a quick movement, he threw the metal capsule with as much force as he could straight at the explosion, in the direction that Jas was.

... have a shot at clearing the game!

Just after throwing the object, the impact of the explosion at the front of his body projected Ryuu to the right, making him fall and turn a couple of times for some meters. However, the boy made a effort to keep his eyes open, looking at where Jas was. Since he was thrown to one of the sides, the explosion in his line of sight as he looked at the girl.

Ah, I bet this is not even close to her full power... What a pain to deal with, he thought as he was kneeling and standing up. There were little scratches and small burn marks along his arms and face. A little of the front of his Hero Suit was also releasing smoke, but it held on without being ripped. Fortunately, due to the movement he was already making, Ryuu didn't get hit head on by the explosion and, because of that, the most damage he took was from the impact that made him fall.

This is going to be a long fight for me and a very short one for you, isn't it Jasmine? he asked, his cold voice also evoking a little of a joke tone as he was now standing up in a similiar position as before but, now, it was his left leg a little bit ahead of his right one.

The capsule Ryuu threw was empty and there was nothing special to it in this first edition of his Hero Suit. It was just like he had thrown a more resistent rock at Jasmine. But it had a purpose. At that last moment, seeing Jaz's Quirk, he immediately wanted to test another thing out. Could she see through her own explosions? If yes she would have easily been able to dodge the capsule Ryuu threw, but if the capsule had hit her... well, in that case Ryuu could have figured the beginnings of a plan.

His boat had turned and Ryuu was now alone in the water at the mercy of the demon. But, even though there was no escape possible, he kept on fighting.

Notes: ---
Words: 1.095.

I often feel like a butterfly with broken wings

She didn't dodge - the boy immediately thought as he saw the capsule he threw seconds before hitting Jasmine on of her body's side - This is good, time for phase two.

It was after this talk to himself that Ryuusei spoke to Jaz but, before he knew it...

She's already coming!

Jasmine had used her Quirk in order to launch herself into Ryuusei while being slightly in the hair. Good, so now she's even faster than before, some Quirks really are blessings. Ryuusei didn't have much time to react, just standing still in the same position while Jasmine was coming at an unmatachable speed.

She can't see through her explosions, but I can't avoid her... No, it's not that I can't - it's that shouldn't. Yes, if I want to have a chance then...

The blond haired girl has now pretty close, her arms lifted above her own head, her purple eyes still shining. Looking above, Ryuusei's body started to move but... in a weird way.

... I need to be the perfect actor and...

His right leg moved first, as if trying to move backwards in order to try to escape the explosion. However, his right foot stepped on the left one, which was about to lift off the ground. This made three things happen: it made Ryuusei unbalanced and beginning to fall; it made him lose his left boot; hopefully, it would seem that, facing such diference in power, he was starting to panic and have doubts.

... I need to take those explosions with pride!

And, once again:

Boom.

Despite him falling made him avoid a completely direct hit, this time Jaz's explosion hit Ryuu way harder and better than before. Being closer to the radius of the explosion, it also made it so that he flew farther and with more impact. 

Damn it, this will be hard as hell. Laying on the ground, belly faced down, Ryuusei found himself spitting blood out. He probably had his mouth slightly open when the explosion hit, which made the heat go inside his throat and burning it, hence the blood.

But it wasn't just that. His face had now a little cut, just above the right eye - probably from the fall - and was beeding a bit. However, that wasn't the worst. The upper body part of his costume was now basically ripped open, showing Ryuu's torso almost fully, a torso that had visible burn marks along with small cuts and bruises from the fall caused by the explosion. His pants remained, for the most part impact, being that the lack of a left shoe was the only thing really noticeable from the lower part of his body. It all hurt, but Ryuu didn't mind it - even thought that was just the adrenaline talking. The pain didn't matter, only one thing did:

I have to get up.

And so he did, as fast as he could, even if in a sloppy way. As his body was trying to get itself into place, his mind kept on working.

I still can't use it. I can't use my Quirk. I only have one shot for it and it isn't now. If I use it and fail, I lose the surprise element and then it's all over. All the impact, all the explosions... In this type of field, alone and against this type of opponent, I only have one plan... And for that plan to work, I need to take them all head on...

He was now fully stood. Only two explosions and probably just one minute or two into the fight, but Ryuu was already visibly shaken up - espcially because of the last explosion. Looking at the where it had it, the ground wasn't even that destroyed - it made it obvious that Jasmine could probably use even more destructive power than that last blast. His legs were a little flexed and his arms in a fighting pose, his body facing the exact direction where Jasmine was.

That's why, even if right now this is someone who dominates her Quirk against a basically Quirkless person, I'll still say it:

Koi.

It was an even colder tone than before, but it had something more to it. Determination. Extreme focus. Was he getting crazy and throwing his brain out after just two explosions? But, at the same time... It was a tone that showed that Ryuu was well aware of what he was doing. And his eyes... they were blank, almost in a scary way. He was looking straight into Jasmine, like it was only him and her that lived on that world. Nothing else mattered - only that fight, only that moment was important.

Ryuusei's almost suicidal way to win had already been set in motion ever since he saw the capsule hit Jasmine. However, it would take at least two more explosions. Desperate times call for desperate measures. But would he be able to take it all just for a 0.01% shot at winning the boss fight? The was only one answer on Ryuu's mind: Yes.

Notes: Ryuu's channeling his inner Nishinoya on this one.
Words: 849.
Tags: Jasmine Noir

I often feel like a butterfly with broken wings

He kept like that. Still. Motionless. His eyes targeting Jasmine. It wasn't like Ryuusei was the predator on that situation - it was the complete opposite. Ryuusei was a weak prey at the mercy of the king of the jungle. But press a small rat against the wall and he'll go crazy. He'll fight for that chance, even if he knows that, at the end, it would be for nothing. And, with his dying breath, that damned rat can even get one bite or two on the lion's ankles before being eaten alive.

That's why, while Jasmine sighted and smiled and shook her head Ryuu maintained his ground. He wouldn't move. He wouldn't move until the very last moment. That's when he saw it: she was going to use her right and but, unlkine other times, she remained still and use her left hand as support.

This is it.

Yes. He didn't know for sure if it would be the strongest explosion that Jasmine could produce at her current level - which, in fact, it was - but, from all the signals, it would definetely be the strongest one she produced so far. His eyes were now focused on her hand. He had to time it perfectely. He was hoping to have more time to analyze, at least two more smaller explosions to prepare, but she was releasing the biggest one right now. He couldn't risk it - he had to make the plan work now, even if he wasn't fully ready for it. While his eyes focused and he started to gather his entire force on his left leg, his brain was focusing on one thing solely.

Relax. Forget the pain, don't think about what you're about to do.

He could feel his heart. He could feel the air going inside and out of his lungs. He meditated alot, but this was the first time he did so while standing up... and in the middle of a battle, in the matter of seconds.

I control my body, no matter how dire the situation, I'm one with myself...

The heart began dropping. Breathing came a little easier. A bright light came out of Jaz's right palm.

... I can control it.

Boom.

With was in slowmotion. He would never be able to dodge that huge blast, at least not fully - not at his weak level. But he could choose what to sacrifice. That's why he put his entire force on his left leg: his bare foot stuck on the ground, he just dodge a little to the left... living his entire right side at the mercy of the explosion. It was at the moment that it hit him than he used it for the first time.

Now.

As the explosion tore down his entire clothing and remaining boot, as his melting skin produced black smoke and a good part of his muscles were made visible, as the heat made him unable to see from his right eye, as pieces of the ground were stuck to his body and made him bleed, as the bottom of his left foot exposed his own bone from the force he made in order to stay on the ground while being pushed by the blast - instead of straight out flying like other times -, Ryuusei Igarashi held his breath. And, by doing so, from behind the smokescreen, he became invisible.

Endure it and walk before the smoke disappears.

No amount of adrenaline could hide the pain he was feeling. He wanted to scream. He felt like, if he coughed, his whole insides would come out of his mouth. Or maybe not - maybe they had already turned to ash. Maybe this was the pain Yaso felt back then. Yeah, maybe... But he couldn't breath. No, he could not do that. His whole Quirk, his whole ability, his whole crazy plan to just be able to touch Jasmine depended on his resolve.

No matter how much pain I'm feeling, I won't breath.

If Jasmine couldn't see ahead of her own blasts, then she wouldn't be able to see Ryuusei turned invisible. If she couldn't see it, she would take longer to notice what was happening and give him time to approach. That was the plan and it would only work with such a powerful blast, which Jasmine decided to throw way earlier than what he anticipated. He had also already locked himself to become invisible when he brought his hands together while faking his Quirk. But why only with that? Why not earlier? That was because Ryuu didn't have the ability to doge any explosion, so he would always bleed. And, if he bled, he would leave a trail that would render his invisibility useless. The solution? A big blast. A big explosion meant more danger for Ryuu, but it also meant more smoke. More smoke meant more time for it to disappear and, because of this, it meant that Ryuu had more time to approach Jasmine before she could notice the bloodtrail. He also took the extra step of losing his boots to minimize the sound he made waling: first from the fake stumble and then from sacrificing his whole right side - he was expecting more time to lose the right boot, but the big explosion coming earlier meant that Ryuu relied on Jasmine strenght to complety melt that part of the outfit.

Throught the smoke, he was basically dragging himself. His right leg didn't work at all and he was using his left arm to make it move. His left leg was doing all the job, but that meant excrutiating pain each time the exposed bone touched the ground. He was a zombie straight out of a horror movie. He lost, he was barely able to stand - but he kept on going, purely relying on his own will... And, all that time without even breathing.

Keep going - he kept repeating to himself at each step - Keep going. Keep going. Keep going.

The smoke had lifted off when his lungs were almost exploding and he took a breath again, becoming visible and falling into the ground. He was just a few centimeters ahead of Jaz when that happened. He didn't even know if she had noticed any blood trails or what was happening. Ryuu's brain was shutting down and he was on pure autopilot.

The girl might've thought he was dead, or at least close to it. But Ryuu start to crawl, using basically only his left arm to drag his entire messed up body across the floor. It could barely be heard, but it was possible to make sense of what Ryuu was saying.

Fight... If you don't fight... you can't win... And if can't win, then... at least... - he streached his arm out and, with the point of his index finger, touched one of Jasmine's feet - ... then at least you fought.

His brain kept yelling during that entire time that it was just training, questioning why the hell his heart was going to such lenghts just to touch the girl. Why he was willing to go through such pain. The heart responded honestely: pride.

It was only for 11 seconds that, at that state, Ryuusei was able to hold his breath. It felt like eleven years. Uncouscious, on the ground, he didn't regret the state at which he left his body. He didn't regret his crazy plan that he knew that, even if working, would never make him win; a plan that would guarantee him weeks at the hospital. Hek new that and he went through with it: it was his best shot at having a shot.

The boy got into this training exercise with the knowledge that he hated fighting. He came out of it sure that he hated losing even more. In the future, Ryuusei Igarashi wouldn't see this drill as "the time he got his ass whooped by Jasmine": he would remember it as his origin.

Notes: Ryuu is now grilled and ready to be served.
Words: 1,335
Tags: Jasmine Noir