Team Wallflower: Assemble!

It was a pleasant Sunday morning. While the autumn air was a bit cold, the sun hung high up in the sky and shared its warmth. Organized by one Nyoro Hoge, a 1-D girls meetup had gone underway. Five participants had arrived. Their meetup spot was a plaza outside one of the larger malls in Kyoto. Various businesses dotted the street on either side of the mall, from stylish cafes and family restaurants, to sporting apparel shops and hair stylists.

First was that same Nyoro Hoge, exuberant at the idea of a girls' class outing. Beneath a moderate blurring effect (curtesy of her quirk) she wore an elegant, dark-blue coat accented with an eye-catching red scarf. Second was Chihiro Mitsurugi in her favorite saber patterned kimono. Her expression was blank and betrayed little of her inner thoughts. The third was Ashleigh Katsuragi who nervously watched from a distance in her blue hoodie and brown shorts. The fourth, Yui Sagara, tersely dragged Ashleigh from her hiding spot while wearing red and black sportswear with a matching backpack. The fifth and final was Faith Kang, who was quietly cursing her black-hearted friends for abandoning her. She wore a thick, pale yellow turtleneck sweater and a knee-length beige skirt. The other girls in Shiketsu's class 1-D couldn't or wouldn't arrive for a myriad of reasons.

Faith greeted the group on arrival: "I'm here, I guess. The other four ditched."

This in turn prompted a cascade of return greetings: "Glad you could make it!" "Hello." "Um. Hi?" "Hey Faith."

...

As the girls started to warm up and get comfortable as a group, a flashy looking guy with spikey bleached hair strode over. Fur lined coat, tight pants, piercings, necklace, all of it brand name as if to say 'look at me, I've got money'. He boldly scanned the group with his eyes, his gaze lingering longer on some girls than others.

To Chihiro, 'No tits.'
To Yui, 'Damn. That body... She's got that look in her eyes too. Hot, but I don't have the time today to tame her.'
To Faith, 'Bleh. Gook? Who lets them in this country.'
To Ashleigh 'Eeh... She's cute. Looks easy enough too. She'll work. I'll get the hot one's contact from this girl. Or maybe I'll see if she's got any other friends or sisters that are hotter so I can upgrade.'

Even without saying a word, he had immediately offended the group. Yui was disgusted by the way he blatantly ogled her chest. Faith had her pride wounded by the look of undisguised revolt on his face when glancing past her. Ashleigh couldn't wait for him to stop staring at her, while Hoge was simply offended that he hadn't stared at her at all... Chihiro was looking down at her chest in confusion, wondering if she was wearing her kimono wrong; she was the only girl unaware of what was going on in his head.

As the oldest girl in the group, Yui tried to stand between the approaching boy and Ashleigh: "You need something? If not then please leave."

He ignored her words entirely and glanced at her mouth: "Fuck. Mutie? Or just a weirdo that sharpens her teeth? What a waste. Plan B then- Outta the way shark teeth." Not skipping a beat, he brushed Yui aside and reached for Ashleigh's waist: "Hey, come here. I've got a party to go to and you're invited."

The girls' mood changed in one go, from disgust to hostility. Chihiro stepped forward to help block him off from Ashleigh. Ashleigh had prepared to grab and shoulder throw him from the moment he insulted Yui. Neither made contact however, as Yui yanked back on the collar of his coat, pulling him backwards and onto the ground.

The ground under his butt hadn't even warmed up when he fearlessly scolded the group: "Do you whores know who I am? My father's a member of the National Diet! If your parents like their jobs, you'd better show some sincerity."

Too confident to notice that his threat had no effect, he was just about to stand back up as Hoge approached him and held out her phone, showing a freshly saved video. It cleanly showed the altercation from the most unflattering angle possible, including the threat he had just made!

As he clawed at Hoge's phone in a panic, not realizing when she'd arrived or how she'd shot that video, Faith calmly walked over, eyes glued to her own phone: "College student Haruto Ishikawa, son of Diet Member Harusada Ishikawa, accosts highschool girls in broad daylight and threatens their parents jobs." She turned her phone around tauntingly and spared a glance at the human trash on the ground: "I wonder how many views I'll get from this video?" She'd already gotten ahold of Hoge's new video and prepared it for an upload.

With a predatory grin, Hoge added while pushing up her glasses with one finger: "If your father likes his job, you had better scram."

The flashy looking man, now identified as Haruto, panicked immediately. His face spasmed and contorted into a bitter and angry expression. Ultimately he got up and fled from the girls, too wary of their blackmail: "Fuck. I'll remember this! You'd better delete that, you hear me!?" His parting words were as painfully cliché as his personality.

Ashleigh sighed a breath of relief: "Thank you. I don't know how that would've gone if it was just me... Probably poorly."

Yui bitterly added: "... I let the blood go to my head. If you hadn't of taken that video... Well, anyway. Um. Thanks."

Hoge felt the time had come to say something she'd always wanted to say. With a vibrant and deliberate smile, she proudly declared: "Don't worry about it! We're FREINDS, aren't we!"

Faith smirked while hitting the post button on her phone: "It's whatever. He had it coming. Guys like that are a dime a dozen."

Eyes lighting up as she noticed what Faith did, Hoge called out at the injustice before her: "Ah! Kang-san, please don't forget to tag me with that post! I was the camerawoman."

Chihiro simply observed the events calmly, content that everyone seemed happy again and that Hoge in particular seemed refreshed.

...

With that little incident behind them, the group walked towards the mall. Ashleigh was bringing up the rear with a contemplative expression: "Maybe it's because I don't visit big stores like this, but I don't usually get hit on. All of you seemed pretty calm though. Do you deal with that kind of thing often?"

"I've gotten plenty of cat-calls, but they usually give up when I glare at them." "Ini's the only person who's ever hit on me." Both Yui and Hoge and some level of bitterness in their voices, if for different reasons.

Meanwhile Faith could hardly hide the pride under her façade of frustration: "Not often, but that's just cuz I usually take a VIP entrance. The girls and I rarely walk in the front entrance since we'll get hit on constantly otherwise."

"I don't believe anyone has attempted to attack me in public."

Upon hearing Chihiro's reply, Ashleigh nearly tripped on the flat pavement. "No, no. Mitsurugi-san, being 'hit on' isn't violence. It's being asked on a date."

"...Then... Fuu-chan- Hoge invited me to a movie last week. Would that count?"

Next in line to correct Chihiro's lack of common sense was Hoge: "Chi-chan, that's just friends hanging out. Being 'hit on' implies an invitation for an outing between a male and a female."

While Yui pondered if she should add to that statement, Chihiro thought a bit more deeply: "...Um... Oh, there was this one time." The girls looked over, half in interest and half certain it'd be another misunderstanding. "Inigo said something about having a spare ticket to a historical exhibit and... something about blade forging. He even had a flier ready."

Hoge's mind immediately went haywire as the lights in her eyes went out and her smile froze. There was no doubt that such a cheesy and deliberate action was indeed Inigo hitting on Chihiro. That wasn't in question. In the confines of her mind she held a kangaroo court of various Chibi Hoges, each arguing in a panic. The judge wore the honorable Marumaru helmet, but remained silent. Some screamed 'Calm down, it's a misunderstanding!' Others screamed 'Homewrecker! Chihiro, we trusted you!' Another screamed 'Ini needs to be punished for this.', while yet another voice screamed back 'No, we need to stick to him like glue so his eyes don't wander!'... And somewhere in the back, another of Hoge's inner voices softly squeaked 'Threesome?' ...The court paused briefly in shock... With a nod from the judge, that deviant voice was promptly placed into a straight jacket and escorted to a mysterious back room.

Ashleigh interrupted Hoge's internal chaos: "Oh! I remember seeing that flier. That was at the very start of the year when Inigo asked literally every girl in class out. I'm really glad he stopped doing that. It was so sleazy."

Faith murmured while staring at her phone: "Don't remind me. (I felt like such an idiot.)"

"I don't think I needed to revisit that memory either. Props to Hoge for getting him to settle down." Yui nodded along.

Chihiro tilted her head in confusion: "Was giving away his spare ticket something bad?"

Holding up a finger to play the part of a knowing senpai, Yui patiently explained: "No, but intentionally buying two tickets and then pretending he had a spare is."

"...EH!? He lied?"

Glancing at Chihiro, Faith kept her thoughts to herself: "(So girls this dense actually exist...)"

As her brain recovered, Hoge realized that her misunderstanding cost her the opportunity to engage in girl talk... She resisted the urge to cry.

---

---

Passing through the automatic front doors, the group faced the main lobby of the mall. Optimized to show off all the various stores, all four floors worth of shops were visible from the entrance, with the sunlight from the glass ceiling shining down onto the lobby. The sprawling first floor was filled with places to sit down and relax, while most of the stores were food related.

Before Hoge could pull out her carefully made itinerary, Faith pointed to a larger store on the fourth floor: "Since we're here, I might as well say that I came here for a premiere. It should be right about now, so I need to head over. You girls coming?"

Yui squinted and observed the store in question. Based on the general look, it seemed to be some kind of tech store. Some details clicked into place: "So that's why you're here even after the other four ditched you."

On hearing that question, Ashleigh recoiled slightly, as if expecting something bad to happen. However, Faith simply replied with a curt nod and a "Yep." Ultimately the group chose to go along with Faith, although Hoge silently mourned the derailing of her itinerary.

...

Once inside the cutting edge tech store, the theme of the premiere unveiled itself to be "Commercial quirk gadgets in computing". In other words, gadgets meant to act as a bridge between a computer and a user's quirk. The topic was somewhat controversial for those in the computer engineering field. On one hand, it opened up astounding new possibilities for computers. On the other hand, attempting any kind of standardization when it comes to quirks is a nightmare, and many early attempts became safety hazards.

As an employee of the tech store spoke at length about the history and theory of the product, the girls largely tuned him out. Faith knew everything he was saying and more. Ashleigh, Yui, and Chihiro simply didn't know what he was talking about. Only Hoge had mercy on the poor man, listening to his explanation and nodding along at the important parts.

Ashleigh made a last ditch effort to understand the topic: "So... Kang-san, what exactly would this gadget do?"

Thankful for any distraction, Faith simplified things: "Basically it's a device to use your quirk as a software shortcut. Nyoro's quirk for example wouldn't make the computer turn invisible nor would it make the fan quieter. It would probably have an effect more like the incognito mode in browsers, making it harder for other computers to gather information about you when interacting... Of course, that might also mean that any data she sends out will just be a garbled mess. Hard to say until she tries it- new tech and all."

Eyes lighting up in understanding, Ashleigh asked another question: "OK! I think I understand it better now. Would my quirk do something similar then? Flush my data out of other computer's logs?"

Faith pondered a bit: "...Hm... Probably not. For one that has all kinds of legal issues. The gadget only affects your own computer. So your quirk would probably just wipe your own data. I guess it could be a handy override if you ever get hit with a nasty virus? Or for cheating in video games. Or... I guess if you accidentally delete something or close a program without saving your progress, there's a chance you could roll the computer back and salvage the situation?"

Finally starting to feel interested, Yui also inquires: "Eeeh? So what about my quirk then?"

...Faith gave Yui an odd look: "Hell if I know. In fact if you ever get the chance to try this device out then you should tell me. What does your quirk even really do? I get that you make threads, but the rest is too vague."

With a somewhat pouting look, Yui clicks her tongue: "I connect things together. If I tie something to the ground, I can make it super hard to move. Or if I tie two people together, I can have them share their senses."

"I've seen you do as much, but how does that actually work? Is there any rules that determine what traits are and aren't transferable?"

"Not really. I kind of just know?"

It was at this point that the quiet Maru's politeness finally paid off. She raised up her hand and yelled: "Yes! My FRIEND would like to try!" As it turned out, while Faith had the group's attention, the employee had offered a chance to come up and test the device. Soon after, Yui found herself herded to the front counter next to the employee with a dozen strangers eying her curiously. She hesitantly placed a hand upon the device (a metal plate with a handprint on it), eventually prompting a beep- a confirmation that it connected with her quirk.

The screen hanging over her head... showed no changes. It displayed a 3D video game of some kind with a character standing in place. Yui didn't feel any sort of connection to the machine- she felt the demonstration had failed. Turning to face the crowd, she rubbed the back of her head awkwardly: "Um, sorry. I guess my quirk doesn't really-"

"No WAY!" A wide-eyed Ashleigh cut her off. "Yui, look! The character model is mimicking your movements!"

The crowd clamored noisily as Yui looked back over her should to see the character model looking over their own shoulder: "Eh? Is this some sorta VR game?"

Before the Employee could say anything, Ashleigh excitedly explained: "It's not! This is a normal game- it has emotes, I think, but there's no way it has emotes this specific. You're really controlling the character!"

As Ashleigh nearly jumped for joy, Chihiro and Hoge politely clapped, neither truly understanding why this technological interaction was so amazing but nonetheless wanting to support their friend. In spite of the heat she felt spreading on her face, Yui did her best to smile confidently: "W-well. Uh. Good. I'm glad my quirk's good for something. Eh... You girls wanna try?"

Under the confused gazes of the crowd, Yui extended a thin bit of string towards Ashleigh that wrapped around her wrist like a simple bracelet. Suddenly the character model changed from Yui's bashful stance to Ashleigh's! Those present who understood the workings of the machine were shocked, as if saying 'Wait! You can do that!?' with their eyes.

...

A few more people attempted the 'VR' edition of the game before the demonstration event ended. Ultimately the devices sold like hotcakes as a result. Among the group of girls, the only one that could afford it was Faith however- it was more expensive than most computers after all. However she smiled with satisfaction on confirming how her quirk interacted with computers. She was able to create AI bots at will! The bots weren't necessarily the most intelligent AI in the world, but the fact was that programs normally needing hours or even weeks to create were being made in a split second. It even doubled as a flawless thought to text function for her.

The rest of the girls naturally had a good time as well. Ashleigh was imagining all the possibilities in gaming that Yui's quirk had- at least until the excitement had faded, leaving her to realize just how much she was standing out earlier. After that, she simply wanted to find the nearest hole to hide in. Yui was simply satisfied that the demonstration went so well and she properly got to show off a little. Hoge was similarly satisfied for much the same reason- she too thought Yui's quirk was a dud for a moment and regretted causing a fuss. She'd originally considered volunteering herself, but Faith's interpretation of how Wasuremono would interact with the device wasn't exactly... Exciting. Thus she chose the more strategic option of offering the spotlight to Yui, and was happy that her decision led to a good conclusion. Per usual, Chihiro had little idea what was going on, but the atmosphere was happy, and thus she too was happy. She also had a brief chance to see how her quirk would interact with the device. It seemed to make the computer run faster in exchange for consuming more electricity- a function she had little need for.

The store's employee was satisfied as well. In truth, most people's quirks aren't potent enough to draw a significant reaction from the device. For example, a weak telekinetic might only be able to slowly drag the mouse curser across the screen while a pro hero like the late PsyKing might have been able to micro-manage a dozen functions swiftly and all at the same time. Even trying to plant someone in the audience was difficult for that reason. The group of hero students was therefore a godsend. Enough so that he'd already forgiven they way they'd ignored him and started chatting during his speech.

---

After exiting the tech store, the group wandered the mall for a while, gracing various stores along the way. Fall fashion displays, school supply sales with new study guides, a public demonstration on housekeeping skills for the aspiring housewife, and even a trip to a music store. They all took turns suggesting places the group could visit.

Glancing at her old-fashioned wristwatch, Hoge declared: "It's lunch time. We should take a moment to eat before we do anything else. Of course, I know this great-"

"Some weird health food place I'm sure. Ick. We passed by an event serving Australian food. We should go there." Faith was quick to cut Hoge off after their argument over physical VS digital school supplies.

Hoge's voice lost some confidence and her quirk flared a little: "No, actually. It's this really nice-"

"Maybe we can go somewhere more normal? There's plenty of regular restaurants around." Ashleigh hadn't even realized she cut Hoge off.

Hoge's struggle continued: "Then you'll love the place I had in mind! Five star reviews! Traditional recipes! We just need to-"

*Ahem* "Um. If... If you girls don't mind. I, uh, packed some lunches for us... Not that it's anything fancy- I just thought... it'd be nice... or something..." By the time Yui had finished cutting Hoge off for a third time, her face was turning a lovely shade of pink while her right hand unconsciously moved to cover the lower half of her face.

"That sounds great." "You know... Sure. Why not?" "OK." "...nevermind, this is better." Yui's suggestion won the group's approval.

As the group set course for a place to eat, Hoge trailed behind slightly, both excited for the homemade lunches and feeling defeated by her quirk. Yet she felt a tug at her sleeve- Chihiro was trying to get her attention: "We should try your suggestion next time, Fuu-chan. I'm interested in the traditional recipes."

"Chi-chan... Of course! You won't be disappointed!"

While Chihiro listened to Hoge's canned speech about a local restaurant, Ashleigh glanced back at the duo: "...Did something happen?"

Faith was once again buried in her phone: "You didn't notice? Our class rep kept pushing for her restaurant and we just talked over her. I thought you two were doing it on purpose."

"..." "..." Ashleigh and Yui fell into a guilty silence.

When the group sat down to have lunch, Hoge found that she'd been given the nicest looking boxed lunch.

---

The group's lunch break proved to be very relaxing. At Ashleigh's suggestion, they listened to the music they bought earlier as one big playlist. While the sudden jumps in genre were a bit jarring (from smooth jazz to cutesy anime songs, back around to traditional Enka music and ASMR tracks meant to stimulate the brain in productive ways), the variety and the way the songs spoke to their owner's tastes made for a lively conversation everyone could participate in. All the boxed lunches were empty long before they'd finished off the playlist.

Returning from a short bathroom break, Hoge found Ashleigh, Faith, and Yui still listening to music together. Meanwhile Chihiro was... nowhere to be seen? Did she leave for the bathroom as well? Unlikely- they certainly would have crossed paths. When asking the other three girls, Ashleigh and Yui looked around in confusion, while Faith pointed out the direction the missing friend had wandered off in. A quick phone call revealed... that Chihiro had left her phone behind with Faith, who was kindly removing the unneeded bloatware that came with the device.

Hoge walked over to the nearby railing: "Did she get lost?"

Yui "Maybe she just got distracted... It's hard to tell with her."

Faith hardly skipped a beat and just continued fiddling with Chihiro's phone: "Do we contact the lost child center? ...There we go. No more bloatware."

Ashleigh winced at the idea, imagining how she'd feel in that situation: "Wouldn't that be a bit embarrassing?"

Faith "I feel like she wouldn't know to be embarrassed."

Hoge "...While I don't think you're wrong, let's avoid that if we can."

Ashleigh "Um... Maybe she's over there? See how there's a lot of people looking in one direction? Mitsurugi-san draws a lot of attention with her kimono... so they might be looking at her." That all day she'd been self-conscious of that kind of attention due to how much the group stood out was something she left unsaid.

Heading down to the first floor, they quickly found that Ashleigh was right. Chihiro had just exited the small souvenir store Ashleigh had pointed to and was heading for the stairs they'd just descended. She had a large shopping bag hanging off of her left arm with a brand new practice sword hanging out.

Before anyone could say anything else, Chihiro rushed over to Ashleigh: "Good timing! Here, take this."

Chihiro pulled a sturdy plastic figurine out of her bag and pushed it towards Ashleigh: "You always seem so nervous, so I bought this fearsome warrior statuette of a boar yokai. He seems quite strong, so maybe he'll help ward off misfortune."

Feeling the weight of the plastic pigman in equally plastic armor, Ashleigh commented nervously: "Err. I-I think Ganon is more likely to attract misfortune, actually... He's basically a demon king after all."

"Eh? Should I take him back then?"

"No, no. It's fine. I like this franchise, so I don't mind."

"Then... good. Next is..."

Not giving anyone a chance to cut in, Chihiro faced Yui next, pulling out a red-rimmed pair of glasses: "You seem to know so much and you're always helping the rest of us learn new things. I thought maybe these would suit you."
Yui hesitantly took the glasses: "...Are you sure you have the right person? I don't think..."

In spite of Yui's doubts, Chihiro had no hesitation: "I'm sure. Even if we're in the same class, you've always been a reliable senpai."

After a brief pause, Yui begrudgingly put the glasses on: "Well, fine, but don't laugh when it looks weird... see? I'm sure it doesn't suit me at all... Why are you all staring?"

Chihiro was fully satisfied: "I think it suits you."

Ashleigh also took the moment to chime in: "Well, she's right about you being a reliable senpai. I think it looks nice."

With a gaze like a hawk observing a rabbit, Faith carefully looked Yui over: "...Surprisingly it's... not bad. Maybe a darker color would work better with the athletic wear, but with a different outfit I could see it."

Hoge in turn nodded firmly: "I concur. Perhaps a dress or a blouse and skirt."

With a wary side-eye, Faith glanced at Hoge: "Right? You get it. The glasses hide her glare, so now she looks cuter. Perfect for something more feminine."

The two fashion critics finally found some common ground, openly discussing the best color combinations. Yui herself wasn't entirely sure what to think of Faith and Hoge's conversation. Part of her wanted to listen in while the rest wanted the duo to stop talking. Ultimately she turned away from them and faced Chihiro instead: "Well... Um... thank you..."

Hearing Yui, a few gears clicked in Ashleigh's head: "Oh! I forgot! Thank you for the figurine, Mitsurugi-san."

Seeing the serial gift-giver turn towards her, Faith stole the initiative: "Seems I'm next then?"

Chihiro nodded and pulled the practice sword out of the shopping bag: "Yes. Please take this."

Yet Faith didn't reach out to take the gift. Instead she looked Chihiro in the eyes: "Is this some kind of recruitment tactic?"

Chihiro blinked and paused for a moment before waving her head: "No? I couldn't think of what to get you, but then I remembered that Cain-san had an internship at a sword dojo. Even if you don't keep up with it, learning something new together might prove rewarding."

Faith finally accepted the practice sword and turned it over in her hands: "Oh... That's actually... kind of unexpectedly sweet... Thanks."

While Faith pondered if she should buy herself a matching practice sword for Chris, Hoge had remained quiet. Considering their teacher-student relationship, she originally thought the practice sword was for her. The excitement she was keeping down when she realized Chihiro was handing out gifts had turned to nervousness.

Content that Faith seemed to like her gift, Chihiro turned to Hoge: "Then last is Fuu-chan. Here." Chihiro pulls out the last gift, a phone strap with a samurai Maneki-Neko mascot hanging from it: "Maneki-Neko represent good luck, and since this little one is a warrior, I thought maybe he'd protect you in times of danger, like a protection amulet."

As Hoge takes the trinket, Chihiro shifts her now empty shopping bag to her other hand. Hoge catches a small glint in Chihiro's sleeve. Noticing her stare, Chihiro held up her arm, revealing another strap with a ninja Maneki-Neko instead of a samurai: "Hm? Well, when I saw this little one it reminded me of Fuu-chan so... I bought it on impulse. I just wanted to give something back after everyone had been helping me out all day... But I couldn't quite resist."

On it's own, her phone strap was a nice gift (if a bit lacking compared to the others), but Chihiro's ninja themed bracelet made them a matching set! Hoge equipped her new accessory so fast her arms looked like a blur (and for once it had nothing to do with her quirk): "I love it. Thank you, Chi-chan."

Even as she realized that her personal funds for the month no longer existed, Chihiro felt no regrets. She felt this was a complete victory.

---

---

Before long, the girls outing had come to an end. The group finally returned to the plaza they first met up at and they prepared to disperse and return home.

"Wait!" Hoge suddenly called out, drawing back the attention of the other four. They followed her eyes and looked at a burly man in the distance with his head down. "That man is one of the escaped villains from the prison break, Bruno Garcia." To his credit, Bruno Garcia (A.K.A. Mauler) noticed the group of girls staring in his direction and whispering. He wasted no time slipping into the nearest alleyway. He felt he needed to get some distance just in case they recognized him.

Having acquired their licenses, they couldn't exactly ignore his departure. They abandoned their shopping spoils and started moving: "Drone, call the police and circle around with Capture Cloth. Blackout, Yako, and I will pursue. Stall for time and delay until a pro hero can arrive!"

The girls nodded and threw themselves immediately into action. Faith and Yui dove into the nearest alleyway as Faith converted bits of railing and drainage pipes with her quirk. With Ashleigh and Hoge behind her, Chihiro took in a bit of energy from her surroundings and sped after Mauler. Without a sword in hand her next best option was to sweep his legs- it failed.

"Yako, physical attacks won't work!" A composed Hoge called out from behind.

Mauler in turn took advantage of his newly increased strength and swept his arm at Chihiro. She ignored the soreness in her leg and stepped on his outstretched arm. She reached out for his face: "Breath Taker!" By closing all of the energy draining pores in her body except for the ones on her palm, she dedicated the full force of her drain in one spot, stealing a large chunk of stamina!

While Chihiro leapt back to avoid any counterattacks, Mauler nearly stumbled as he continued his sprint. She called out: "Please surrender, Garcia-san." Mauler elected not to reply, instead guarding his mouth with his left arm while he ran down the alleyway- clearly he was wary of that attack. However... He neglected that there was more than one hero student present.

*Crack!*

A plastic container full of a slick, greasy liquid was thrown right in front of him! With a dull 'thud' he collided with the ground! Still guarding his mouth, he quickly scrambled to stand back up, only to feel a tug on his leg- yet another student had caught up, and this one managed to curl her whip around his leg! He tried to ignore her and stand back up, but between his current prone position and the 'oil slick' beneath him, he struggled to levy any real strength. Ashleigh called out with (forced) confidence as she prepared for her quirk to trigger: "Y-You won't get away!"

"TO HELL WITH THIS!" Mauler was starting to feel the frustration of a bull elephant being swarmed by ants and had no desire to stick around. He slammed both hands into the pavement in front of him, digging his fingers in as if it were mere dirt! With one herculean heave, he threw himself towards the end of the alley, ripping Ashleigh's whip from her hands! Chihiro once again charged ahead, only to see Mauler sprint headlong into traffic!

*CRASH!*

It was obvious that Mauler wasn't suicidal- he was fueling his quirk. Yet he had another goal- he grabbed onto the crumpled engine block and lifted the car off of the ground! He pivoted, winding up his arm- preparing to chuck the car into the alleyway and clean up all of his pursuers at once!

"Fleeting Lost Memories: FORGETTER!" Ashleigh cried out her quirk's name as her eyes flashed. Mauler's body tensed as disorientation flooded his mind... He was ducking into an alleyway and then all of a sudden he was... In the middle of a road? Holding a car? And facing an alleyway? Some kids were sprinting at him? Throw it? Don't? His thoughts slowly sped back up while the screams of the car's driver hid a dull buzzing sound. Atop a flying drone, Faith dashed in from the side: "Out of the way!"

*Slap*

She tagged the car and activated her quirk! The car slipped through Mauler's hands like sand and rapidly divided into half a dozen spider-like drones, one of which held the distressed driver and carried her to safety. The rest clung to Mauler and held him in place. Even as he punched and kicked them off of himself, he couldn't destroy them- they merely scrambled back and continued to swarm him. Yet another girl came flying by on a drone a moment later, this one catching his arms with a fine red thread. "WHAT NOW!?" he cried. No matter how hard he pulled, he couldn't seem to damage the thread or yank it away- Yui had connected herself to Mauler, causing her and her thread to take on his kinetic energy absorption!

With spider drones and Yui's thread holding him down, he finally struggled to escape. Chihiro dashed forward to finish things: "Breath Taker." Even as he struggled and tried to break free, he felt his strength leave him as a mind numbing sense of fatigue settled in. His arms burned. His legs buckled. His body practically begged him for rest. Finally, his eyes dimmed as he resigned himself- he had failed to escape. It had barely been a minute since being spotted. He'd been taken down before a pro hero could even arrive. A myriad of regrets filled his mind: He should have taken them seriously from the start. He should have thrown that car, or at least secured a hostage. He felt as if there were a dozen things he'd done wrong, and any one of them changed things.

...

Fifteen minutes later, Mauler had lost the charge from his quirk and was bound in red string as the police herded him into an armored vehicle once more... It seemed his freedom was short lived... Between that realization and the haggard, almost deathly pale of his skin, he seemed like a dead man walking. In the past, had he ever felt so... weak?

With Mauler hauled away and a paramedic checking in on the poor driver that had been caught in the crossfire, the tension drained from the girls. They could once again relax. Faith took a moment to get a selfie, chronicling the incident and her valiant contributions while her drones posed heroically behind her. Ashleigh was practically glued to Yui- her heart felt like it'd leap out of her throat when she saw Mauler try to throw that car down the alleyway. If she had been any slower with her quirk... She shuddered to imagine. Yui awkwardly smiled and hugged Ashleigh back, assuring her junior of how good a job she'd done. Meanwhile Chihiro and Hoge exchanged a high-five in the alleyway. They'd just returned from reclaiming the group's shopping bags.

The two exchanged a few words.

"Are you sure you don't want to stick around, Chi-chan? This is a good chance to show people your good side."

"It's fine Fuu-chan. I'm not good with that sort of thing."

"Fine, then I'll just have to tell them how heroic you were myself."

"I don't feel like I did that much though? Even without me, everyone could have detained him."

"Nonsense. You stalled him enough for Katsuragi and I to catch up. Otherwise he might have reached the other side and gotten away. Moreover if you hadn't taken him down, it could have led to unforeseen variables appearing as well. There's no guarantee what would've have happened in that time."

"...If Fuu-chan says so..."

"Anyway, if you're going then you should go. The news will likely arrive soon."

"Bye-bye Fuu-chan. Tell the others goodbye for me."

"Bye-bye Chi-chan."

As Chihiro walked away, Hoge stiffly watched her friend's slowly shrinking back. Once the former was out of earshot... "damn it..." with no one looking to see her shame, she slammed the side of her fist in the alleyway wall. "(Who the hell was I comforting just now? Chihiro or me? What was I even here for? To throw cooking oil? To spot the villain in the first place? I shouldn't have said anything- it nearly got us killed! Ashleigh and Faith pulling that off was pure luck... No one would know that I saw him! It would have been the right call. So why... Why do I feel so uncomfortable thinking that way...? That's not like you, Nyoro Hoge...)"

Tightening her Jaw, Hoge wiped off the tears that had escaped her eyes: ("Screw it! If this is how things are then I'll just get better! Next time we'll still win! Next time it won't be luck! Next time I'll show everyone the results of my efforts!")

Fueled with self-hate and a thin strip of earnest passion, she spun around and exited the alleyway, ready to face the oncoming reporters.

...

Once she was on her own, Chihiro couldn't help but muse to herself as she walked home: "(That poor driver... I don't think she liked my new move... In fact it feels like she was almost as scared of me as the villain... Was it that bad? Not that I can I blame her- being afraid of me is only normal... Plus I was ready to abandon her and pull Hoge and Ashleigh out of the way...)"

She dug out the ninja-themed phone strap from her sleeve and watched it gently swung back and forth: "(Hmm... I should ask Inigo for tips on how to make Breath Taker less scary... Or maybe Orochi? She might know something about this kind of problem... She hasn't been to the dojo this last week, but she seems a little more... energetic? No, determined? She's been doing a lot of sparring lately. Which is good. Aiming to better oneself is always good...)"

Her steps paused for a moment. "(...What was I thinking about again...? Hm... It'll come to me eventually. I should see how Orochi's doing some time.)"

Unknowingly, her steps, once somber, were now light and cheerful.

...

That day, three pieces of news were added to the ever growing pile of trending topics. One was the heroic takedown of an escaped villain by a group of Shiketsu freshmen. The generally demure attitude of the girls endeared them to the public, from the tall, white-haired girl that stumbled over her words with a blush, to the literal blur whose voice barely registered on the mic but selflessly did her best to bring her friends into the spotlight by highlighting their achievements over her own. The fact that one of them fled before the news could even arrive earned the group a nickname from the internet- "Team Wallflower".

The second piece of news was the raid on an armored vehicle by a large, golden dragon. Experiencing yet another crest in the roller-coaster of life, Mauler had already regained his freedom thanks to the assistance of an unknown villain.

The third piece of news was the political scandal of a certain Diet Member Ishikawa due to his son's misdeeds. Amplified by the flash fire popularity of "Team Wallflower", the video of his son threatening those girls the same day inflated the scandal, instantly earning a spot in the national news. Before long, numerous girls and women from across Japan stepped forward to pile on and vie for a spotlight of their own, all claiming to have been threated in the past, some even reporting that their parents did in fact lost their jobs suddenly! While most of the claims were dubious and impossible to confirm in any criminal sense, Harusada Ishikawa's reputation was shattered, ultimately resulting in an early retirement. Some people even merrily joked that this was Team Wallflower's real achievement.