He shouldn't be as elated as he was when Hati soared thanks to the makeshift trampoline, even when it was the least of what he deserved. Vengeance was an ugly feeling after all. Unbecoming of a hero. What would his coworkers think if they knew his opinion on what fate the man should receive?

Granted, Hati wasn't the reason he picked up his blade. They'll have to remain in the dark for a while longer.

Ryota bent his legs, preparing himself to avoid what he thought was a collision with the hulking vigilante, but he didn't expect the punch. The resulting shockwave knocked him away instead and he landed on the ground hard, rolling in the dirt before he pushed himself to his feet and skidded the rest of the way.

A laugh, breathless as it was, escaped him at Hati's first words. "You seem aware of what I can do! Trust me, the number of tricks I have are infinite!" Underneath the bravado, Ryota was deep in thought. The man's strength was immense; he couldn't take more hits like that. He needed to stop him here and now. There had to be a good word for it, he just needed to figure out what it would be.

The halt in the man's advance made Ryota pause, blade remaining in its sheath as he listened. The confusion, the resistance- he was being controlled surely? He let go of his blade, hand reaching out fruitlessly as Hati fell to his knees.

If the hero was capable of swearing he would've cursed himself. He was so focused on taking the man down that he didn't consider the blank stare in the beginning. How out-of-character he seemed compared to the vigilante who brought criminals right to the authorities' doorstep. He should've known something was wrong.

But it also meant he wasn't to blame for his aunt's disappearance. Whoever was responsible- he'd have to search for them too.

For now he needed to focus, head raised when the scream came and the tendrils were launched his way. To think his sparring against his brother's girlfriend would be useful for this moment. Ryota crouched. "Stay where you are Hati, I'm coming for you!" With that declaration he ran forward, ducking and weaving from side to side to avoid the lashes.

When he was close enough he'd try to reach out and touch the man. "[EXHAUSTED]!" In his mind, the shadows couldn't be controlled when one didn't have the energy to even summon them. If his hunch was wrong, then at worst it would at least weaken him.

---

OOC: Ryota gets knocked off the tree and rolls on the ground before he stabilized himself. Shifting his focus on saving Hati instead of killing him, he tries to avoid the following shadow lashes and apply 'exhausted' on Hati in an attempt to stop the shadow control.

Active Words:
Large - House
Elastic - House
Exhausted - Hati (attempt)

Fanthes,Olivia Liang,Tsukiko Hada

His eyes glanced at the woman's blade - right, so both this stranger and his aunt were armed, alright then - and he raised a hand placating. The last thing he wanted to do was antagonize her in addition to Hati. It wasn't like he could do much else, she was already- wait, where was she going?

"Careful, that stuff is dangerous!" Ryota could only watch on as she hovered over the mass of shadows to take on the man on her own, only to dive into the depths herself. That's- no-

Then another voice. He turned his head as Tsukiko sent him a salute. They'll talk later? How could they when she- "Oba-san, wait!" His hand reached out fruitlessly as she sunk too.

Now that was two people he could've saved but didn't. One of them was family. He- he was actually here this time and he still couldn't-

Someone called his name. Highlighted his armour. His adversary was still here.

His hand balled into a fist. This just got personal.

Ryota lowered his hand as he turned to Hati. "Indeed, I am the Madlib Hero, Vox! Your next opponent." He stared him down, whispering to himself. "And your last."

He crouched down to steady himself as his surroundings shook and Hati grew in size, like he was absorbing the shadows' power. Under his mask, Ryota furrowed his brow. He could take a beating but not a swing from arms that large.

He took a breath. It's like any other fight. Adapt as always.

As the hulking behemoth jumped up, Ryota slapped the roof for a second time. "[ELASTIC]!" The shingles would dip under his weight, and he dug his feet in to then leap out and onto the tree still standing next to the house. Gripping the branch with one hand to hold the hilt of his blade in the other, he watched as Hati came down.

Let's see how he tackles that.

---

OOC: Seeing both Tsukiko and Olivia go under and assuming them to have perished, Ryota vows to take Hati down. He makes the house elastic with his Quirk and uses it to bounce to a tree, readying his hand on his blade as he watches how Hati handles the newly conjured bouncy castle.

Active Words:
Large - House
Elastic - House

Fanthes,Olivia Liang,Tsukiko Hada

"Experienced students playing as the villains! Now that's smart- they could keep their Quirks under wraps. As you were aware, someone was keeping distance from me during the other exercise." Such was the drawback of being a front-facing hero: their information was public so anyone could glean their powers and act accordingly. "That being said, I can be the bad guy again! I just have to take a different approach with my Quirk." Him? Using it in secret? Now that would be devastating.

The students were going to learn so much.

Ryota then snorted at the conspiring. "A drive is an event hosted in order to raise money for something, like a bake sale or a gala. As for what we could be running..." He tapped the straw against his mask in thought before- lightbulb! "It could be a marathon! Simple premise of completing a course to raise money for charity."

A laugh escaped him as he shook his head. "And you did decide to stand at the bar when the drinks are free. But not to worry-" The masked man patted Mark on the shoulder. "I got this."

With that he left the cowboy to his devices and quickly made his way to the rest of the group. "Evening everyone, good to see you all again!" He pointed at Not-Sadako and laughed. "Iphigenia! I thought you were the resident counsellor for a second, nicely done!"

Then there was The New Guy^TM. Ryota gasped as directed his finger to him Spiderman-style. "And you! Samesies on the costume! Well, more similarsies but you get the idea- I don't have quite as much of that going on." He gestured at the man's muscle, bulky compared to his own toned but small frame.

He stood next to him as he called out to the frog. "Penny! Anonymous voting is no fun, I want to judge all your choices! Some of us have a fun comparison anyhow!" Ryota pointed between himself and Max. "For example- ladies, who wore it better? Me or him?"

Penny ✾,lonewolf,Stellar,Lawbringer,Kazashi McCoy,Iphigenia Pavlina,Shirayuki Mai

Ryota ceased his patting on the frog head as instructed, only to point a finger at her. "Now that's the behaviour I'm more familiar with!" Which meant her earlier flirting had to be disingenuous. Sad. "But no more of that from me, promise. I'll even distance myself from you, at least until I finish my conversation with Mark here."

As Ryota pulled him away from the lovely but very energetic women - aptly demonstrated by the hug he received from the beaming sun that was Stellar - he couldn't help but snort at the man's words surely meant for only himself. God, knowing a language outside of your country can be a curse sometimes. It was a miracle he wasn't drinking else that beer would've sprayed out of his mouth.

He responded once he got air back in his system. "By being myself!" He leaned in to whisper. "She finds me more annoying than I find her." The masked hero had no qualms with this though. It wasn't like Penny was the first person to dislike him. "And don't worry about it. I understand it can be difficult to tolerate that energy at the best of times, much less the worse."

While Ryota wasn't surprised about there being no drive - it was just an excuse to get away from the group after all - he did raise his brows at the mention of his supposedly brutal exercise. "Ooh, No Man's Land! I have heard about how unforgiving it is." He tilted his head. "I am curious about what happens in there so I wouldn't mind dropping by! And while I do like challenging the students, your exercise seems to run itself. How would my involvement benefit?"

lonewolf,Penny ✾,Stellar,Kazashi McCoy,Shirayuki Mai

Ryota would be whistling his praises to Starling Soul's speech if his mask wasn't in the way. Because she was right; the city had been through a lot of strife lately and they deserved a break. And as much as he could sense that others thought they were never truly safe - and he understood that sentiment deeply - he knew that being on guard at all times would weather down even the hardiest of heroes. So the party was a welcome respite.

Granted, perhaps he was still on guard himself. His machete that his costume came with may be made of plastic, but a word was all it needed to inherit its sharp edge.

In any case, the masked man was walking around the cafeteria, whiskey in hand as he greeted the other heroes. All of them so far questioned the straw the drink came with. When he poked it through one of the holes in his mask to demonstrate why, he was met with faces of disgust. Bah! They just didn't understand the convenience.

He eventually made his way to another group - and some of his coworkers were in there. He couldn't help but snort at the frog outfit but he got himself together by the time he was close to them. "Penny! Stellar! It's so good to see you- I hope you're jumping in excitement at this luau!" His voice may be carrying a bit too much mirth.

The rest of the group would not be unscathed. He smiled underneath his mask as he faced Kazashi and Mai and saluted with his knife. "I'm Vox! Ryota outside of the heroics- don't get too wrapped in the festivities, you wouldn't want to stay out too late!"

And then there was the cowboy. He placed a hand on the man's shoulder. "And I can't believe you went full American for this occasion Mark! Or should I call you sheriff?" He sipped through his straw, but eventually his voice fell to a whisper. "Seriously though, you alright?" Compared to the rest of the group, Mark didn't seem all too keen on being here.

lonewolf,Penny ✾,Stellar,Kazashi McCoy,Shirayuki Mai