The hero known as Deku certainly impressed, however. Most normal men would be unable to get up or move after taking a liver blow like that. But he is no normal man, but a hero, and for that Noburu is glad. For it means that he can fight freely and not worry about holding back.Â
The air shots were going to be a bit of a problem. Not because he couldnât dodge them, but because he was staying out of range. But a gun is easy to dodge when you can see where itâs pointed. One doesnât need to dodge the bullet, just the end of barrel. And Noburu doesnât need to see Izuku to dodge him.Â
For Izuku was noisy. Noburu, ever paranoid, knew he couldnât rely on merely his eyes; his flesh was weak and mortal and quirkless after all; so heâs overcome that by training to fight without his sight. And when he had done that, without his hearing as well. Izuku was fast, but not so fast that he couldnât be tracked.Â
Because Izukuâs speed had one drawback; it relied on force. Which meant that he could not accelerate without applying an equal and opposite force against the thing he was pushing off of. And since a hero didnât want the building to come down around him, that limited his speed. Not that there wasnât an upper limit; Noburu had already surmised that if the boy used too much force that it would just break what he was trying to jump off of. Propulsion required resistance, after all.Â
In the meantime, Noburu would wait. Not exactly what one might expect, but he was happy to let Izuku tire himself out. The real danger came from them being close together, but Noburu was somewhat certain heâd inflicted a healthy fear of being closeby. Whether her realized it or not, Noburuâs âpoisonâ was working well.Â
Thus, all he needed to do was dodge. Move about, just enough, to make Izuku think that his eyes had been playing tricks on him before. That Noburu couldnât have been in two places. Build that confidence up, and then strike.Â
For Noburu had surmised that this air shot required him to use his quirk on his fingers, and thus he had a limited number of uses before the strain overtaxed his bones. He assumes that is why Izuku is so worried now; the boy thinks in terms of broken bones and taxed muscles. He doesnât think of organs or bodily functions.Â
But that isnât how Noburu thinks. He realizes that in terms of their bodies, Izuku is superior. But his desire not to kill Noburu will limit him, force him to remain equal. In spirit, they were also equal, for neither would want to lose or give up. Thus, the fight would come down to technique. And in that regard, Noburu felt superior.Â
He was hoping Izuku would challenge that notion, though.Â
Despite having the high ground, this situation really isnât working out in Izukuâs favor. He can feel the fatigue dragging down on his body the longer he keeps this up. Meanwhile, Noburu is still dodging his attacks as casually as can be. Heâs not even attempting to try to counter them or chase Izuku down from his perches.
Thereâs not much in the way of tools to use to his advantage. They gym is a blank slate containing only two bodies. If distance wonât work, then the only other alternative is close combat. Izukuâs gut tightens at the memory of that devastating blow heâd been dealt without even realizing it, but he hasnât gotten this far in life by having a healthy sense of self-preservation.
You canât win by running away. Get in there and fight!
Izuku circles around until heâs facing Noburuâs back, then launches himself towards his opponent instead of the next wall. If he canât find an opening, heâll just have to make one. High or low? Low! He twists his weight and aims his legs front first, sliding along the floor like heâs making a desperate bid for home plate- except the plate is Noburuâs feet.
