While Endeavor's gang patrolled key areas in search of the Hero Killer and Mei pretended not to notice the glances Shoto stole at the part of her dress/suit that left her shoulders exposed, a sudden commotion occurred a few blocks from their position.
The kunoichi's sharp senses allowed her to notice slight vibrations in the ground, a result of strong impacts in the distance. Her emerald eyes locked onto the direction of the trouble, and she paused for a moment, catching the attention of Burnin beside her.
—What's wrong, girl?— she asked, her body tensing as she noticed her intern's alert state.
—There's a commotion in that direction— she calmly informed the group. Endeavor raised an eyebrow and was about to snort when an explosion made car alarms blare in the streets, close enough for the heroes' ears to catch it too.
—Move! Shoto, Terumi, don't stray from the group!— the Hero barked, setting aside his personal disdain and stepping into his professional facet.
At the same time, Todoroki checked his phone, which irritated Endeavor, but suddenly the boy said he needed to help his friends and left in another direction.
Endeavor couldn't stop him from leaving, nor could he waste time. The city was under attack.
With a burst of flames that defied logic, he shot off like a rocket towards the battle site.
Burnin stared intently at her intern, but was surprised when the girl showed no signs of following Shoto and instead stayed by her side.
—There are fires over there. I can put them out with my water, I know how to deal with that— the kunoichi said. Burnin smiled at the calm her intern seemed to maintain and nodded approvingly.
—Let's go then! — she barked.
With Burnin's permission, Mei pulsed chakra to her legs and shot off at high speed, running horizontally across the buildings to save time and keep away from the streets.
—Woah, that's awesome! — Kido said in surprise.
—Hehe, that way she can get ahead and not be in danger. Smart girl— Burnin smiled.
Unlike Endeavor, she didn't deny the girl's capabilities. She was sure Mei could take care of herself better than some of her colleagues, which is why she didn't mind letting her roam freely.
By the time Mei arrived at the scene, she found two Nomu considerably uglier than the first one she saw at USJ, beating up the local heroes. But she didn't get directly involved in the fight.
She wasn't going to disobey her instructor, nor betray her trust. For now.
Instead, she remained on the periphery, releasing water from her seals to put out the fire and prevent more cars from exploding, and used her great speed and strength to move civilians away from the danger.
With a charge, a Nomu broke through the cordon that some heroes had formed to take it down, reaching one of them instantly and raising its fist to smash him on the spot.
At a speed the hero couldn't react to, the Nomu attacked. Just before its fist met his head and turned him into paste, a stream of water struck the monster's forearm, with enough force to deflect the attack.
Mei appeared next to the stunned man, held him firmly, and jumped backward, avoiding another blow from the Nomu.
The other heroes reacted, engaging the Nomu in battle so it wouldn't pursue the girl and the injured hero.
—W-what are you doing, girl!?— shouted the man Mei saved.
—UA student, I'm with Endeavor's agency— Mei clarified before the guy could make unnecessary drama.
—Endeavor?— the subject asked.
A flare of green fire hit the Nomu in the face, drawing everyone's attention. Burnin had arrived at the scene.
—Well done, Mei-chan! Now stay out of this. Go help the civilians!— she ordered her intern.
Mei nodded and left the spot. She determined there wouldn't be a good opportunity to confront the Nomu without getting penalized for disobeying.
It was already problematic that Tetsumaru was forced to share some of his secrets with UA, and she didn't want to fall into the same hole.
But unbeknownst to her, a certain individual with serious mental issues and a resentful crotch observed her appearance from a great height.
Tomura Shigaraki felt bile rise in his throat upon seeing Terumi Mei again, a shudder ran through him, and an inexplicable pain made him clench his sphincter.
—Nomu... Kill her— he said coldly.
At his command, the winged Nomu diverted its attention from the heroes and focused on the kunoichi who was running across the walls to help people.
It kicked the ground, raising a cloud of dust and debris, and shot towards Mei's figure.
Burnin, who was keeping the other Nomu at bay, watched in horror as the winged creature intercepted her intern in mid-jump, forcefully tackling her, smashing through a building, and disappearing on the other side.
*******************************
Mei's reaction was instantaneous. Given the situation, she mobilized her chakra and transformed it into water around her. Her superior manipulation allowed her to condense it more than a common Ninja could achieve, perhaps only aside from the Nidaime and Kisame.
She wrapped herself in a super-dense water prison, which couldn't prevent the Nomu's fists from hitting her in the abdomen, but significantly reduced the impact, and completely protected her from being knocked unconscious or killed upon smashing through the wall.
Kunoichi or not, Kage incarnation or not, shinobi were still glass cannons, at least most of them.
They were super-humans, yes, but they didn't have the resilience of a Kryptonian. Heck, even a Ghoul from a certain underrated manga had greater resistance than shinobi.
—AACK!— Mei groaned as she was thrown along the office corridor, crashing into desks and computers. Her forehead was cut, and the air left her lungs.
But she couldn't afford to lick her wounds patiently.
She boosted herself with chakra and jumped to the ceiling, avoiding another charge from the Nomu that tore down walls and opened a hole in the floor, where she had been just a second ago.
Some workers became alarmed, running terrified at the appearance of a monster and the destruction it was causing.
Mei dropped down and slammed a heel kick onto the Nomu's exposed brain, which was blocked by one of its wings.
The thing coiled around her leg and swung the kunoichi from side to side, smashing her against the opposite wall. Mei protected herself again with a dense layer of water, firing bullets from her seal at the Nomu's face.
The impacts at such a close distance made it stumble backward, and Mei writhed in the air, freeing herself from the wing and gaining distance.
—Shit shit! Lava would be perfect now, but...— she thought reluctantly. Filling the narrow corridor with lava would certainly be helpful, but then it would overflow onto the lower floors, where there were still people, not to mention it was too early to reveal that card.
She raised her hand and sent an intense stream of water at the Nomu, preventing it from advancing while chakra moved in her stomach. The temperature rose, causing the vital energy to bubble.
If she couldn't fill the corridor with lava, she would fill it with steam.