I was brooding a bit as the medics took Tori off the field.
"You didn't have to go that far," Fiona scolded me.
"You didn't hear her. She all but said she was coming after me on behalf of Heroics Inc."
"And what, you don't trust me to take care of myself? I'm not blind, I know they're obligated to be my friends because of where their parents work."
"So-"
"So I want to make them into real friends. So that if the time comes, they'll truly be on my side."
I shook my head. In the world of Talents, there were bystanders, rivals, obstacles, and allies. Friends could morph into any of those, and they inevitably would, with enough time. And the one truth of humanity that has kept up with that fact is that familiarity breeds contempt.
"When they burn you, don't blame me. But if you want my opinion, conflict brings out the truth."
"What are you saying?" Fiona frowned.
"I guess I'm saying if you want those two fangirls to be friends, the battlefield will show you what they are. Nothing nurtures friendship like a mutual enemy, and if you need me to play the bad guy..." I shrug, "Consider it one of the many services I'm willing to provide."
"Don't ask me to use you like that. It's not funny." Fiona pouts at me.
I shrug, knowing I've driven the argument to a draw.
Turning I give my attention to Naomi and Grasshead, who are five paces from each other.
"Right. Naomi Nagase, Basil Baker, are you ready?"
Huh. Naomi's last name is Nagase. She must be from an East Asian family.
Naomi gave a small bow to Basil, who blinked awkwardly before returning it.
Come to think of it, I've never seen Naomi really fight. I mean, sure there were the bots, but there's a difference between having to one-woman-army a horde compared to fighting a person.
*
Naomi's face hardened as she assumed a fighting stance, her wrench held above her head with one hand, the moment Night Woman shouted "Begin!"
Basil lifted his arms, shooting a pair of smooth vines out with which he tried to wrap her in. Pitching forward, Naomi raised her wrench in an overhead strike, only for the vines to whip inward trying to stop it.
The moment the vines tried to wrap downward to her hands, she let go and stepped into Basil's reach, punching away at him but finding her fists in contact with what felt like wood.
"You'll have to hit me harder for me to feel it," Basil said, in a matter-of-fact tone.
"Are you trying to help me beat you?" Naomi shot back suspiciously as she rolled away from his follow-up kick.
"You are at a natural disadvantage. We might be allies one day. Drawing out your potential may ultimately help us both survive."
"I appreciate your point of view. But don't baby me!" Naomi struck down one of his vines with a hand chop that severed it halfway down. The half that fell to the ground writhed for a second before going still. "I've fought to get here, and I'll beat anything you have to throw at me!" she challenged.
Basil tilted his head a little. "But you can't beat me. My Talents are naturally stronger than you." He tossed her wrench behind himself. "The best thing you can get out of this is a training moment."
As he spoke, Naomi dodged and weaved through his vines, only for her punch to land on a mask made of wood rather than his jaw.
That was a mistake.
Basil grew more vines out of his shoulders, and while Naomi chopped through a couple, there were too many for her to fight, and she was quickly wrapped up and brought to a crouch as she resisted his attempt to put her on her knees.
As she stared up at his implacable green eyes and wood-colored skin, Nagase felt a flash of memory. She'd always been weak by most standards. Her parents hadn't even been sure she had a Talent even when they brought her to the doctor after she broke her father's gun trying to see how it worked, breaking the pin assembly by putting her thumb in it.
"She's got a bit of extra strength, and I think some regeneration, which is how she didn't lose a finger. I'm not going to lie, it'll be a long shot for her to develop Talents into something useful, so maybe focus more on her mental skills. Plenty of need for technicians, after all..."
She remembered the doctor's words bitterly. But she also remembered her father and mother after they got home.
"Don't listen to what the doctor said. We know how much you want to be a hero," her mother hugged her.
"I think it's time you started training at the dojo," her father mussed her curly hair. "And, if you like taking things apart, there's a repair shop right next door."
Neo Orleans was a place of poverty, where most of the money flowed through legalized gambling. Naomi learned Kyoto-Ryu from her father every morning and took up mechanical work as a side job after school.
She knew that with the latter she was hedging her bets, but she'd also enjoyed it. The old man who worked Sal's Repair and Salvage was a mundane human who liked to drink and gamble, but he'd always been kind to her. He'd even let her keep the tools he couldn't use anymore. Mech-scale versions of standard work tools.
And the day she got accepted to Star E. Knight High was the day he died.
"I can let you out if you surrender," Basil offered her. "Since you seem unwilling to train under me."
"I... am... NOT BENEATH YOU!" Naomi shouted, forcing herself to a stand as she kicked out, striking Basil right between the legs.
His breath exploded from his mouth as he held himself by the berries. His vines slackening enough that Naomi escaped, leaping over him and grabbing her oversized wrench before she pinned Basil to the ground beneath the tongs.
"Woo! Go Naomi!" Ash shouted from the sides, with Tala joining her a moment later.
Naomi shot them a smile then turned her focus back to Basil. "Now it's my turn to ask if you'll surrender."
"That is not in my nature, but I'll grant you your wish."
Naomi flinched as something crawled up her leg, and she looked down to find even thicker vines sprouting up from the ground and twisting around her, pulling her away from Basil, who stood off the ground, tilting backward to avoid her wrench as she tried to swipe desperately at his face.
His vines stretched her into a cruciform position as he rose up, showing everyone that the growths came from his feet.
"This is my full power... nonfatally at least. There is no shame in acknowledging it. Please surrender."
Realizing she'd lost, Naomi reluctantly shook her head.
"I'll only surrender if you acknowledge that I am not beneath you."
"The unrestrained use of my power should already suggest that. But I acknowledge your will. We are equals, Naomi Nagase, and I look forward to nurturing our talents together."
"Fine," Naomi said. "I surrender."