Heroes of Tomorrow

Part 9~The Ice Cold Room

Shoji held his arms out as he led the group through the city, Mera's voice booming overhead. "So far, 56 people have passed. Don't panic, but do consider that your time is almost up. Good luck."

"Having any luck Shoji?" Tsu glanced at Shoji as he scoured the city. Jiro had her earphone jacks plugged into the wall, listening intently.

"It's no use. I can't see anyone from our class."

"Maybe they're in another area."

"Most likely." Shoji paused, turning to Yao-momo. "Yaoyorozu. You heard that, right? Less than half of the spots remain."

"We should probably give up on finding everyone," Tsu announced a worried look on her face. "We need to fight for ourselves and make sure we pass."

"Yes. That would be wisest," Yao-momo concluded when Jiro shushed everyone.

"I hear four people climbing the stairs. Ten floors below. They're headed up here."

"Are they planning to attack us?" Shoji turned to the door as Yao-momo paused.

"I don't understand why there are only four of them coming if that's the case. All the other schools we've observed have moved in much larger groups than that."

"Maybe their companions were defeated, and they're running away to hide in here." Tsu guessed as Jiro shook her head.

"No. That's not what this sounds like. They're not stopping on the other floors."

"Are there more of them hiding somewhere?" Yao-momo turned to Akiko, who had her eyes closed and reached out her vines, which twisted around her feet.

"There are more people everywhere in the city. It's hard to tell if they're with this lot or not, but if a fight breaks out, we will be ambushed before we get off this floor."

Yao-momo hummed, a worried look on her face as she muttered to herself. Her thought process was cut short as Jiro screamed. Uzu rushed closer, pulling Jiro's earphone jacks out of the wall.

"Jiro!" Yao-momo rushed over, a panicked look on her face.

Shoji placed his ear on the wall carefully. "There's music playing. It's not too bad for me. But hearing it suddenly must've been a huge shock for Jiro."

Uzu helped Jiro sit up, his eyes gazing over her in terror. "They must know Kyoka's Quirk. They targeted her on purpose."

"It's a coordinated attack," Shoji announced as Akiko cursed.

"More people have entered the building."

"This isn't good." Yao-Momo stood up, glancing at Akiko. She could tell them info, but she wasn't anywhere near as accurate as Jiro. "Any idea how many?"

Akiko shook her head. "The water is too concentrated. I can't identify how many, but I would guess at least two."

The windows around them cracked as Yao-momo spun. "Everyone hide!"

"Attacks from the outside?" Jiro slid behind a metal box as everyone rushed either behind a pillar or under the windows.

"What's their plan?" Tsu glanced up as more windows shattered.

"They're trying to keep me from using my eyes," Shoji guessed as Yao-momo frowned. "Yaoyorozu. What could their next move be?"

"I'm not positive, but it seems likely that they're trying to trap us here."

"And then they'll surround us and move in to attack as a group," Tsu summed up.

"Yes. We should assume they're already close by, waiting for the right moment to strike."