[Taro Yamada]

GAME ON!

HP: ▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰ 100/100

Ever since the announcement was made that all services in ENKI were free for the next 24 hours, there was chaos. And why wouldn't there be? Chumps of the food chain were given a chance of a lifetime. For 24 hours even the smallest of villains had free reign to achieve their wildest dreams, lack of resources no longer holding them back from succeeding in their goals. Some used it to take territory from their competition. Others called for an escape vehicle and forged documents for when they were done with their crime. No small percentage took advantage of the savings to get even more money in their pockets.

Nothing like a good ol' bank heist to make that happen.

Taro was one in a group of grunts hired to raid the institution, ensuring that the mission went smoothly by keeping the civilians inside in line. One wrong move and it's game over for them, the client would tell the digital being. It got a small chuckle out of him. He always appreciated a good videogame pun.

One at a time they made their way in the bank, some lining up at the ATMs while others sat in the seats that littered the main area. Taro took to leaning against the wall, scrolling through his phone and looking totally not suspicious. Time passed as he entertained himself with cat videos and for a moment he wondered when it was all going to start.

Until that thought was answered in the form of his boss pulling out a gun. "Get down on the ground! This is a robbery!"

Screams from those who noticed his weapon overtook his voice, and three shots were fired in the air to bring attention back to him. "I said get down!" And just like that the patrons crouched on their knees, hands on their heads as they cried. Wow, it's just like in the movies. The guy really was living his dream. He made his way to the bank teller, flanked by two more henchmen with bags. "You, take us to your vault! Now." She didn't need to be told twice, not with the gun being pointed at her.

As they were led inside, Taro took his place in the middle of the crowd, sword drawn as a more silent threat. He was pretty sure some of them cried even louder from seeing it. Maybe this job will be easier than he thought. A shame if that were the case though. It would mean he couldn't break anything.

Oh well, there'll be more chances in the future.

Ghouligan

[Ghouligan]

Three gunshots.

There was a bank not too far away from where he had been taking his lunch. The sound came from that direction, too. Antoine looked at his phone. He still had 15 minutes before he had to clock in. I’ll make it work.

Gonna hit the atm. He texts Bernard. Read xx:xx. Good enough.

There’s not enough time to grab his cue stick at Bernie’s Burgers, but he doesn’t leave without his mask. For times like these, specifically. Antoine scurries off to a remote location out of sight from wandering eyes — they’re all too distracted by those gunshots anyway — and puts on the mask. Pulls his chain. The black umbra swallows him whole. And in turn, he swallows an elixir that allows him to speak Japanese. He’s been working on it. Slowly. But when it came to matters of life and death, he’d lean on the shortcut. For now.

He walks through the front door of the bank. People scream. For all they know, he’s with these men. And it’s not until the first words escape the jagged teeth of his mask that they understand what’s happening.

“Leave now, give up crime, and you’ll live to see tomorrow.” He grabs one of the metal stanchions they use to divvy up the lines and twirls it a few times. “Or I’ll bash your skulls in.”

---

Taro Yamada

[Taro Yamada]

GAME ON!

HP: ▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰ 100/100

Bags were likely getting filled by now if time served him right. Bills just stuffed in, maybe bars too? Banks held gold bars right? Taro couldn't fathom why though; it's not like you could plop those down in a store and expect to get something in return. At least that's what he assumed- the paper stuff exchanged hands a lot more often.

Thoughts of the economy were soon pushed to the back of his mind when a new figure came in; one he didn't recognize. Some black static-y hero- it reminded him of his own glitches. As usual they say their threats in an attempt to stop the wrongdoing with words alone. Taro merely responded with a thumbs up. "I'll live either way so. Don't gotta worry about me." He didn't even move from his spot in the middle of the hostages, his sword resting casually on his shoulder. The same couldn't be said for the other grunts though.

While some were nervous about the man's strange appearance, a gangly villain armed with a machine gun laughed at their choice of weapon. "Watch out guys, it's a boy with a stick! I'm so scared!!!" He aimed his gun as the others hollered, bolstered by his confidence. They prepared their own weapons and quirks - from steel coating one's body to another breathing in - to assault whoever dared to stop their raid. "Let's waste him!" And the bullet spray began, aimed at the weird shifting creature before them.

Ghouligan

[Ghouligan]

The hell is that one talking about?

Antoine wasn’t one for ego. His looks might have intimidated most, but there were other monsters in the world. Larger, more terrifying ones. And some have confronted and bested these monsters. To presume himself powerful was a mistake. To presume others thought of him that way was a mistake, too. To become attached to the idea of strength was futile. If the man’s looks weren’t enough, then it was how he carried himself that was truly alarming. They knew they’d survive. Yet they did not carry themselves like a warrior or a noble or some kind of deluded god.

The rest, however, responded as most do — with violence. They did not understand the position they were in. And it was in Antoine’s best interest to show them the gravity of the situation. If any of them could redeem themselves, he’d gladly accept them.

Bullets rained on him. Until they didn’t. They all slowed down, coming to a halt, until they eventually fell onto the ground, immobile. He couldn’t keep this up for the entirety of the fight, but he made his bluff… a monster immune to bullets.

“This is your final warning.”

---

Taro Yamada

[Taro Yamada]

GAME ON!

HP: ▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰ 100/100

Silence followed the clatter of bullets hitting tile. The goons were rendered speechless, having just witnessed the shadow being stop the hail of shots that should've decimated the thing. But here they stood instead, wholly unharmed and ready to follow through with their word.

Taro tilted his head. It was an interesting development to be sure.

The man with the gun wasn't nearly as pleased. Shaking the shock off himself, he pulled apart his weapon with a growl. One gun turned into two. "Come on, there's more of us than there are of him! I said let's waste him!" That got the others to act. A woman with pale skin and paler hair blew out her stored air in the direction of the masked man, cold enough to leave frost in its wake. The steel brute was not far behind, aiming to just bulldoze the stranger from where they stood.

Meanwhile, the digital being saw his boss in his periphery, most likely finished with grabbing their first haul. It prompted him leave his post to go to the crew, swirling his finger in a gesture to turn around. "Hey boss, we got a situation here. You might wanna find a different exit."

The man who wanted the heist stared back with wide eyes. "But the front's the closest to the truck!"

"It's either you go the long way or get arrested I think."

Taro smiled when his boss ordered his henchmen to back away and move further in the building. "Good luck." When he closed the door, he turned to the remaining bank teller in the lobby. "Hey. If you let that guy through, it's game over for you yeah?" The employee was a lot more agreeable as they nodded furiously. "Cool."

The horned villain took to the front of the counter then, taking on a more traditional fighting stance with his blade. Let's see what this ghost's got.

Ghouligan

[Ghouligan]

There wasn’t time for strategy.

Life wasn’t a game. This wasn’t a boss with hordes of spawning minions. He wouldn’t get more experience for taking out the leader. And he wouldn’t unlock an achievement for doing things diplomatically. There were lives at stake. These criminals had two choices: run or die. And Antoine was content with either.

Antoine jumped onto the ceiling. Planting his feet firmly atop it, he swung down at the man charging underneath. As he passed by, unable to slow himself, his skull collapsed as blood spilled onto the ice sculptor next to him.

Perfect. Dropping from the ceiling and taking a horizontal swing at the sculpture, he created various fragments that fell onto the ground. However, a few floated in the air as he aimed. It’s not a cue stick and it’s not a pool ball. But it’ll work.

He took a moment to assess the situation. Who would he strike next?

---

Taro Yamada

[Taro Yamada]

GAME ON!

HP: ▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰ 95/100

No one expected the strength of the stranger's strike. Heroes would usually rough up the criminals. Only do enough to capture and apprehend them so they were no longer a danger to the hostages they kept in the building. But as the steel man fell to the floor and remained unmoving, the intentions of the being have been cemented. They had no qualms with killing them all.

Were they even a hero? It's becoming clear they're someone who took justice in their own hands.

The gunner was catching on. His eyed locked on Taro. "You." Taro blinked. Pointed at himself confused. "Don't just stand there fucker, do something!" He looked at the "hero". Looked at pseudoboss. Looked at the door he was guarding. He thought that blocking their entry would be the priority, but if the gunner wanted him to go in... sure, he'll follow orders.

As the pale woman exhaled more air to build on her existing wall, Taro rushed in, his form shifting as his boots kicked into high gear before he leaped across the lobby to catch the stranger by surprise with his sword. Meanwhile the man with two guns opened fire that barely drowned the screams of onlookers, bullets boring holes through the ice to get to their target. He seemed uncaring of whether or not they hit one of their own allies.

Since said ally was Taro, it's fair of him to not need to.

Ghouligan

[Ghouligan]

The woman reinforced her damaged ice wall, the pseudo-boss sprayed bullets, and the anime protagonist charged forward on orders from a higher-up. Antoine needed to dwindle the numbers before someone got hurt. With how haphazardly the man shot, he’d be the first target. While the ice was a problem, it was a resource. And while the blue protagonist was a threat, they relied on close quarters — they were the least dangerous of the three.

Antoine slammed his cue stick against the pool balls. No, he slammed the stanchion against the ice pellets. With a barrier between him and them, he ricocheted the pellets off the sides of the wall and into the neck of the woman and the ear of the man. They fell to the ground, much like the bullets that never reached him. Except one, lodging itself into his shoulder. Crap.

For now, there was no blood.

Then, finally, there was the unknown threat before him. At this point, he would notice that he had slowed down significantly. The air around him was like quicksand. Antoine’s attention was buying time. But now that two more of the threats were dispatched, he could clean up the mess before him.

Antoine slammed his hand against the ice wall and sent rough, asymmetric shrapnel in the man’s direction.

---

Taro Yamada

[Taro Yamada]

GAME ON!

HP: ▰▰▰▱▱▱▱▱▱▱ 30/100

Oof, things were turning to shit real fast now.

Taro could only watch as the pale woman's life - whom he didn't even catch the name of - was snuffed out in an instant, a piece of her own icy creation shot through her throat. She collapsed on the ground, blood seeping out of the single yet devastating wound. The gun man was much louder with his descent, screaming as he fell to his knees and cupped his mangled ear. You'd think he lost an arm with how much agony he seemed to be.

The digital being wasn't let off easy either. Running became difficult all of a sudden, yet he couldn't see what was slowing him down. A Quirk at work maybe? It's probably whatever let the stranger slow those bullets to a stop. And speaking of- they made their own makeshift ones out of the ice. They're heading towards him now.

Welp. Can't dodge that.

Taro was shredded. Every piece of shrapnel passed through him, distorting his figure before lodging themselves into the bank teller's desk behind him. For a moment he was a blue version of the vigilante in a sense- pure static obscuring his true form. He's still alive though. He could tell he had time, but not much of it was left with how this opponent was fighting. So he'll make the most of it. He even knew what could be done about that molasses feeling around him.

His boots were turned to high gear as he pushed through the pressure, slicing a block off the ice wall before sending it the other's direction with an explosive kick. It'd be a distraction more than anything; a way to hopefully catch them off-guard before he'd follow the projectile with his own sword.

Meanwhile the gun man eventually stopped snivelling from his spot, eyes burning as he glared at the person who hurt him. "You'll fucking regret that! You know why? Because now you're all gonna pay!" His grip on his gun was shaky as his other hand was still holding his injury, but his target was clear. He was no longer pointing his weapon at the vigilante.

He was pointing it at the hostages.

Ghouligan

[Ghouligan]

Some things are inevitable.

Ice melts in the Sun. Friends grow apart. And a few people will die in a bank robbery. Antoine accepted this fact when he took on this mission. Keeping deaths to a minimum was ideal, but his goal — the one that he would see through to the end — was cleaning up what heroes couldn’t. A thief would get processed by the system. A murderer, too. But there were no heroes here and there were lives at stake.

Antoine ignored the man’s threats. The most effective path forward was to slaughter the man before him. If they were even a man. With the way their body turned to static, they seemed to be a projection of electrical frequencies; life manifested artificially. Whether it was the byproduct of their quirk or they, themselves, were the byproduct of another, Antoine could rule out one thing:

Illusions.

If they could interact with the world, then they could be killed. There was a limit to how much damage anything could take as long as it was the right target and the right kind of damage. Based on their reaction to the previous attacks, blunt force might suffice. For now.

The timing was tight. He avoided the block of ice — it was easy enough. The difficult part was avoiding the follow-up. Well, difficult for most people. With his particular quirk, Antoine set a trap. There was no reason to suspect the air between them had changed. There was no reason to suspect that the friction had turned up to such an extreme, that they’d collide with what felt like concrete. There was no reason to suspect that they’d abruptly come to a halt, their blade coming straight for their head, only to be slammed by Antoine, amplifying the speed further.

There was no reason to suspect a thing, but he should have.

---

Taro Yamada

[Taro Yamada]

GAME ON!

HP: ▱▱▱▱▱▱▱▱▱▱ 0/100

So Taro can notice things. He wasn't completely ignorant of his surroundings. In his analyzing his opponent he could at least grasp that they had immense control over their Quirk, and could react so fast that they could put bullets to a stand still. Nothing was obstructing the bullets though, so it made sense that they could catch them in time. Taro thought the block of ice would prevent them from acting on him directly so he could at least get a hit in. He didn't think they could tune their Quirk even further at the speed it did, to the point where he collided with a non-existent wall.

As Antoine slammed their stanchion on his head afterwards, the digital being only let out a distorted click of his tongue.

Better luck next time he supposed.

He exploded; a harmless blast as his body distorted into bright blue static before he disappeared entirely. His sword and boots clang to the floor. They would be the only evidence that he'd been around at all.

The gunman was alone now. With his colleagues dead and whoever hired him most likely driving away from the scene at this point, there was little else he could do. He was an incredibly vengeful man though. His gun was pointed, all he needed to do was pull the trigger.

He did so.

Several hostages screamed as bullets found their marks. Fatal or not, the hired grunt didn't care, eventually pushing himself up from his spot. He was making his way to the door and out of this botched heist, but not without leaving death and destruction in his wake.

Ghouligan

[Ghouligan]

Ghouligan made direct contact with the avatar’s skull. The man dematerialized into blue, pixelated static momentarily blinding him. When his eyesight returned, nothing was left behind — his weapons, clothes, everything was gone.

Game over.

Then there was the pesky, little gunman. He haphazardly aimed his bullets as he ran for the exit. The bullets found themselves plunged within six victims. Four suffered non-fatal blows even if they felt as though they were dying. Two of his victims, however, were immediately alleviated from their pain.

---

The first was Norma, a middle-aged woman who stumbled into a bowling alley. She couldn’t remember how she had gotten here until she was greeted by the white, toothy smiles from her sisters. It was her mother’s 70th birthday and as per usual she was late. Her sisters teased her about it but it all melted when she kissed the top of her mother’s head.

“Better late than never.” Her mother said. She was always grateful for the time she had with her family. It was a gratitude her daughters inherited. So, when she passed the following weekend, they gathered around and mourned her death in the only way they could: with smiles and laughter. But the weekend hasn’t come yet and there’s no one to mourn and everyone’s getting gutter balls.

It was time for the bumpers.

---

Then there was Asahi, a young Japanese boy whose sneakers squeaked against the gymnasium floor. The score was 13-12 and he lifted his paddle into the air. Ping pong had captured his heart and today was the day he dethroned his rival, his mentor, and his best friend as best in the club. Everyone was cheering, but the battle was for more than a title. Asahi’s rival had quit. After years as the best in his district, he was going to focus on his studies in hopes of finding what he truly loved. Asahi refused.

Three months ago the challenge was issued: at the end of the semester they played, and if he won, then the former champion would have to rejoin. But the conditions didn’t matter. Asahi knew that if he won, then he’d reignite the flame inside of him.

Takaba. Hated. Losing.

Asahi slammed down. 14-12. He’d never forget Takaba’s face.

---

And then there was the pesky, little gunman. Two steps into his escape, he stumbled onto the ground. His face was cold. And when he reached up to grab the burning of his nose, he was met with frigid stone and warm blood. He blinked a few times before he collapsed onto the ground, another corpse littering the bank.

Antoine would like to hope the gunman found solace. Antoine hoped the synapses of his mind took him to a place to reflect on his mistakes. Antoine hoped he’d come to regret his final moments and repent to whatever divine creator he subscribed to. Antoine hoped even a murderer like him could find peace.

The bank was silent. And then it wasn’t.

Sirens blared.

---

Taro Yamada

[Jinx]

☆ MISSION SUCCESS ☆

Robbers on ice, live in theatres now!
Great thread you two!

+ 50 Tokens!!

Ghouligan - 11,750 exp // 16,750 exp (100/150 Babel tokens)
Taro - 0 // 50 tokens (50/150 Babel tokens)

tag: Taro Yamada Ghouligan