Eventually, they move on as they walk through the mall having fun going in and out of the many stores. In a toy store, Tadashi and Moshiro talk as they walk down an aisle when suddenly Tadashi is hit in the face playfully by a foam sword.

Wolf “On guard!”

She says as she giggles holding the foam sword. Suddenly, Tadashi counters and thrusts back with another foam sword and a smile on his face. They play swords for a bit when the store clerk notices them.

Clerk “Hey!”
They stop and look at the man.

Wolf “Busted!”
She shouts as they toss the swords into the air and rush out of the store. In an athletics store, Saika smiles awkwardly as Wolf, Killian and Moshiro flex and pose together in front of some weights, Tadashi standing next to Saika. Phoenix looks around and sees a weight on the ground before picking it up. She lifts the large weight with ease before walking over to Saika and Tadashi. She stares at it before lifting it over to Saika.

Phoenix “Is this heavy?”
Saika opens his hands to take the weight but when she drops it, Saika is flung to the ground by the weight with a thud and a small yelp. Tadashi looks down at him.

Tadashi “Looks like that’s 45 kilograms.”
Phoenix “Yeah but is that heavy?”
Saika “Felt heavy to me…”
He groans from the floor. As they leave the store, Saika looks at his wrist that now has a small scrape on it.

Saika “Ouch.. I scraped my wrist.”

He just casually starts licking it gently as the group comes across a set of stares. Killian looks at it before getting a big smile on his face.

Killian “Yo! Stairs! You know what that means.”
He says as he sits on the railing outlining the stairs.

Wolf “It’s time for you to hit your head again?”
Tadashi “Maybe suffer some kind of brain damage?”

They giggle as Killian brushes them off.

Killian “You’re just haters cause you’re not as good as me.”
Saika looks at him with a concerned look.

Saika “Killian, please be careful. I don’t want to see you fall again.”

He looks back at Saika and winks at him.

Killian “That’ll only happen if I fail, which I never do.”

Phoenix and Moshiro stand next to each other with smug looks.

Phoenix “We know that was a lie.”
Moshiro nods. Killian readies himself to go down the rail.

Killian “Now watch this!”
Immediately, he lays on the ground in a curled position in a small crater. 

Saika “Killian!”
Phoenix “Told you.”
Moshiro nods as Saika rushes down and lifts Killian in his arms.

Killian “S-saika..? Is that you?..”

Saika “I told you to be careful!”
Killian “*cough cough* I know. My bad. I think.. this is my last failure..”

Saika’s eyes start to shine as tears well up in them. 

Saika “No, don’t say that. You’ll pull through. You always do.”

Killian smiles at him weakly. 

Killian “Thank you for believing in me..”
He says softly before going limp. The others watch as Moshiro and Tadashi walk down the stairs. 

Wolf “If we’re lucky, he’ll actually stay dead this time.”
Phoenix glares at Wolf before grabbing her and shoving her over, almost causing her to fall down the stairs too.

Phoenix “Don’t be mean or I’ll make you fall down next.”
Wolf “No! Stop! I don’t like falling down stairs!”

Saika sobs as Tadashi pats him on the shoulder before walking past him.

Tadashi “Better luck next time.”

Moshiro follows and so does Phoenix.

Wolf “I don’t know about you guys but I’m starving. Let’s get some food.”
She says casually.

Killian “Food you say? Count me in!”
He says looking good as new and with his head shooting up. Saika is shocked for a moment before getting angry.

Saika “Why’d you make me worry, you jerk!?”
He shouts while slapping him upside the head causing his head to rattle a bit. They all head to the food court together and get some food. After eating and messing around some more, the day begins to wind down leaving the group to sit by the stairs on a cement sitting area surrounding it. Moshiro and Phoenix talk as Saika plays with a puzzle game they bought earlier. Killian, Tadashi and Wolf sit next to each other as Wolf bites into the last bits of her sandwich. Killian leans back and sighs.

Killian “Main, having fun can really make you tired, huh?”

Tadashi “Yeah well try being in my shoes, having to deal with your guys’ single brain cell all day.”

Killian leans forward and looks at him.

Killian “What’s that supposed to mean?”
Wolf “It means your basic. Besides, let’s not pretend that either of you have it worse than me. Having to listen and settle your constant bickering.”

They both look at her with looks of disbelief.

Killian/Tadashi “No.”
Wolf giggles as she tosses the last bit of sandwich in her mouth.

Across Saika, Moshiro leans against the stair wall with her hands behind her back. 

Moshiro “Weren’t you gonna talk to Wolf about the other night?”

She asks Phoenix who looks at her surprised before face palming.

Phoenix “Dang it! I totally forgot. Thanks for reminding me.”

She smiles at her for a moment before getting a nervous look.

Phoenix “I definitely was, but… you think you could talk to her for me?..”
She asks timidly as Moshiro closes her eyes.

Moshiro “No way. This is bestfriend business and you’ve made it plenty clear how much pride you take in being Wolf’s longest friend.”

Saika “Even though you only met her a couple years before us.”

Phoenix giggles nervously between the two of them.

Phoenix “Yeahhh, I guess I can get a little.. Possessive.”
Moshiro raises an eyebrow at her.

Moshiro “Mhm.”
Phoenix stands up with a determined look.

Phoenix “Okay! You’re right. I’ve known her since we were eight, there’s no reason we can’t talk about our feelings.”

Saika “Go get em tiger!”
He says as Phoenix walks the few steps between them and the others. Wolf giggles as the boys choke her playfully and rub her head harshly, punishing her for her mockingly playful words.

Phoenix “Hey, Wolfy-”

As soon as her words leave her mouth, a sudden heavy weight rains down upon the Wolf, Killian and Tadashi. Their eyes shoot open as the heavy weight slowly dissipates. They stand up and look around, concerned and confused. Phoenix looks at them surprised.

Phoenix “Guys..?”
Moshiro notices them and looks confused before looking around and noticing some people in the distance running around. She stares at them before they hear screaming. Now, the entire group is on edge and looks around for answers but only sees people running and screaming from one direction. 

Wolf “Guys.”
She calls their attention as her body tenses up.

Wolf “Run.”
She looks back at them. As anxiety fills their bodies, they hear a loud, painful thud before seeing a man go flying through the air and slamming into the ground next to them. Saika screams in fear as the man gasps for air. 

Moshiro “A hero?”
The man, wearing what looks like a combat outfit and with a few knives attached to his suit, weakly looks at them.

Hero “Kids.. run..!”

Wolf “Guys, take him and run!”
She shouts as Moshiro snaps out of it and grabs the man.

Moshiro “Come on, let’s go!”
She grabs Saika by the wrist and pulls him along as they rush off. 

Tadashi “We should follow them.”

He says with haste in his voice.

Phoenix “Right. Come on Wolf, let’s go!”
She shouts as they begin to run but stops when she notices Wolf not turning around and still looking in the direction of the oncoming danger, noticing Killian standing behind her.

Phoenix “Wolf!”
Killian “Wolf, we need to go. Who knows how strong that hero was. If he was a Tier 3 or 4 and that thing defeated him, we don’t stand a chance.”

Wolf “You go. Protect the others. I’ll make sure you’re not followed.”
She says with a stressed but determined look.

Wolf ‘This weight… it’s well beyond anything I’ve faced before… If I don’t stop it here, who knows if my friends will be safe no matter how far they run.’

Killian grits his teeth as frustration builds in him. They hear loud stomping as a large, boarish man, roughly 2.75 meters in height, yells their way.

Stranger “Bahahaha! Is there not anyone who can oppose me?! Bring me a Tier 5 Hunter or Vanguard! Nothing less will suffice!”
He shouts as fire and destruction follows behind him. Killian’s body tenses up as he sees this.

Killian “Wolf, let’s go!”
He grabs Wolf’s shoulder but Wolf turns and shouts at him.

Wolf “You go! I have to stop this thing, for you! Go!”
She yells as Killian’s eyes grow wide. Wolf is shocked as she is buried in the shadow of the towering man.

Stranger “Well now, what do we have here? Some rodents who need extermination perhaps.”

Wolf tenses up before turning and striking the man with intense might. Upon impact, the man collapses to one knee but surprisingly, Wolf is the one sent sliding back. She is unharmed but confused why she went sliding back across the floor. The man holds his large round belly as he looks up with a smile.

Stranger “That’s a lot of bite for such a small girl. Maybe you’re not so helpless after all.”
Killian “Wolf!”
Wolf “Get out of here! Go!”
She shouts as she charges back at the man while he stands up. He swings his large fist down at her but she jumps up and dodges it, landing a swift punch to his face causing him to stumble over a bit, surprised by its force.

Phoenix and Tadashi step next to Killian.

Phoenix “What is she doing??”
Killian “If you’re fighting, we will too!”

Wolf flips over the man’s backhand swing and lands on the ground, not removing her eyes from the man for a second. 

Wolf “I don’t need your help, I need you safe!”

Stranger “None of them are safe and neither are you! Now stop squirming you little runt!”
He slams his fists down at her together but she jumps back dodging them. Phoenix clenches her fists tightly as she looks down a bit.

Phoenix “Wolf… We…”
She looks up sharply as the others join her as they all shout together.

Phoenix/Killian/Tadashi “We want to be heroes too!”
Wolf looks at them surprised for a moment before focusing up and quickly putting her arms up to block the man’s heavy fist coming down upon her. As it slams into her, she falls to one knee, crushing the ground beneath her. She grunts as the man laughs.

Stranger “Bahaha! Heroes? You lot? Don’t make me laugh!”
He shouts before quickly lifting his fist and kicking Wolf at them. She blocks but yells from the pain as she goes flying through the air. Killian catches her as blood drips down her face. 

Killian “Wolf! Are you alright?”
Wolf “Yeah, I’m fine, this is nothing.”
She says, getting to her feet.

Stranger “So you want to be heroes, do you? Then go ahead and show me what you’ve got, you wannabes.”

He says intimidatingly. Moshiro and Saika run down the hall and around a corner where she puts down the wounded hero. She looks around the corner to see the four of them standing off against the villain.

Moshiro “What are they doing?”
She questions with a frustrated tone.

Moshiro “Saika, stay here and watch him. I’m gonna go back them up.”
She says while standing up but before she can, Saika grabs her wrist, stopping her.

Saika “Wait! Moshiro..”

She looks at him confused as he gives her a sad and frustrated look.

Saika “We’re… not like them. We would just get in the way.”
He says softly as she gets a frustrated and disappointed look but understands as she watches them.